Intergalactic Bounty Hunter Shinji
by Shritistrang
Summary: By accident, Shinji and Asuka come upon a faraway planet called Tallon IV on which they meet with one of the most famous bounty hunters in the galaxy... Samus Aran. Little does Shinji know that on this planet, he shall find the murderer of his mother...
1. The Distress Signal

Author's Note: This is the third part of a huge crossover I am doing. The three parts can be read by themselves, even though there might be a few characters appearing that have already appeared in one of the previous parts.

The first story is 'Martial Artists in Spira' (Ranma/Final Fantasy X crossover), the second story is 'Chaos Scream' (Sonic the Hedgehog/Sailor Moon crossover), and the third story is this one. Enjoy! 

* * *

The cosmos... in the vast universe, the history of humanity has been a flash of light from a lone star. The life of a single person should be lost in space and time, but among the stars, there is one light that burns brighter than all the others. 

The light of Shinji Ikari... 

* * *

Shinji sighed as he took a look at the stars. Millions and billions of stars, not to mention the planets, the planetoids, the moons and all of the other celestial bodies out there. 

He sometimes wondered if space is really endless... Or if, like the sailors on Earth believed in ancient times, there is an end to the known reality, where you plummet down to your doom if you try to cross the barriers. 

Shinji chuckled. He used to philosophize with Kaworu all the time about such pointless things. If he started something like that with Asuka now, she would think he was crazy. 

Kaworu... it was how long since he saw his old friend the last time? 20 Earth cycles? He wondered how he was doing... 

"Hey, don't go daydreaming here," his copilot's voice snapped him back to reality. "I can fly this thing by myself, but it would be really nice of you if you would help me sometimes." 

"Sorry, Asuka," he said and climbed back into the pilot's seat of the 'Yui'... his seat. Asuka shook her head. The red-headed girl was always a little impatient. 

"Where are we right now?" Shinji asked as he saw a small green planet pass by. 

"In Sector Red," Asuka said. "Really, you should pay more attention when we're on a mission. Your father wouldn't be too pleased if he heard how you are slacking off." 

Shinji laughed. "My father would never be pleased... I don't think he ever felt anything towards me... Since my mother died, he became cold and repellent. I don't even know if he remembers that I am actually his son..." 

"Your father is a leading officer of the Galactic Federation and one of the most brilliant tacticians that ever lived. You should be proud of him." 

Shinji didn't reply, and Asuka realized she hit a sore spot, so she decided to drop the subject. 

When they reached the outskirts of Sector Blue, she frowned. "Shinji, I just picked up an incoming signal. It's very faint, but I believe it's a distress call." 

"Out here?" Shinji wondered. "No federation vessel would normally fly into an unknown space sector like this. That was the reason why we were ordered to do this exploration flight." 

"I know that, but there's clearly someone out there who is sending that signal. Perhaps a ship with a broken space drive. Let's go and see if they need our help." 

"Okay," Shinji nodded. "Turn around." 

Asuka looked at him grimly. "Why don't YOU steer this thing once in a while?" 

"I like giving you commands." 

The red-head grumbled. 

* * *

The ship was pretty big, so it couldn't be just a normal star speeder. Perhaps a cargo vessel, or a military craft, Shinji speculated. On the other hand, he had never seen this kind of ship design before. Well, he wasn't really an expert regarding that subject... 

It just drifted aimlessly along, sometimes colliding with asteroids. The crew members (if there were any survivors, the distress signal could be sent by a computer) were lucky enough that the ship hadn't drifted into the atmosphere of the nearby, orange-tinted planet by now. 

Shinji looked up the name of the planet in the intergalactic database. "It's called Tallon IV," he explained to Asuka. "The Federation doesn't know too much about it, as it lies so far away from the center of the known galaxy. The climate conditions should be similar to the ones on Earth, so life is clearly possible... In fact, it looks like there's a big assortment of flora and fauna on the surface..." 

"Never mind the planet now," Asuka said. "We have to take care of the ship. I tried calling them with the intercom, but I only can hear hissing and some weird-sounding voices. I think they're talking in a language that's not stored in our automatic translator." 

Shinji sighed. "I guess we have to go down there and look for survivors, then. I already guessed that the ship is no human vessel... it clearly looks alien to me." 

"Okay, then let's put on our space suits and head out." 

* * *

The two humans put on their space suits that actually were a special design for the space patrols. Different from a trooper's suit, they were actually pretty tight. It was a new synthetic fiber technology that made the suits resistant against the vacuum of space. Their helmets had retractable visors, and in their belt, the standard space ranger guns were resting. 

After sealing the entrance to the 'Yui', they carefully entered the entrance on the ship's docking platform. 

They had no time to see that another ship was approaching some time later. It landed next to the 'Yui'. A hatch on it's top side opened, and a sleek figure wearing a red-orange battle suit came out. Instead of a normal glove, a gun-like weapon was attached to it's right arm. 

Samus Aran looked through the green visor of her helmet, then gracefully jumped onto the docking platform... 

* * *

After going through the air lock, Shinji and Asuka made their way through the narrow corridor behind it. 

By using their communicator devices inside their helmets, they were able to talk to each other. 

"Pretty quiet in here, isn't it?" Shinji asked. Asuka nodded. 

They went through the next door... and gasped. 

They were standing inside a big room... and in the middle of the room, a giant creature was lying. It kinda looked like an enormous insect, with a body shell as thick as steel plates. 

Luckily, it seemed to be dead. Fire was burning on it's backside. 

The whole room seemed to be wrecked. Cables were hanging from the ceiling, glass windows were being shattered, and metal support bars were lying on the ground, fallen down from the ceiling. 

Shinji carefully approached the creature. It had powerful jaws and a long, tail-like appendage on it's backside. But, regarding the mouth-like opening near the 'tail's tip, it seemed to be for giving birth... or laying eggs. 

Asuka looked at what looked like escape capsules lined up at one wall. "It looks like several of those have detached earlier," she told Shinji. "Perhaps some of the crew members have escaped from this thing." 

"Might be," Shinji answered and turned around. 

When he saw something moving from the corner of his eye, he got startled. He saw a body lying on the ground... 

"A Space Pirate!" he yelled. "Asuka, take cover!" 

Asuka yelped and dove behind a pile of crates, followed by Shinji. 

For a while, nothing happened. 

"You think he hasn't seen us?" Shinji whispered. 

"Only one thing to find out," Asuka replied, gripped her laser gun and carefully peered around the corner. 

Then she let out a sigh of relief. "Shinji, it's okay! This guy is already dead." 

"You sure?" Shinji didn't sound too convinced. "I know I saw something moving." 

"Well, it certainly wasn't him." Asuka retched. "Oh my god! Some of his flesh has been melted by some sort of acid..." 

Shinji came out of his hiding place. "Okay, okay, you don't have to tell me all the details... but what was that moving thing I saw earlier?" 

He walked around the dead body of the pirate, and finally saw some creature gnawing on the dead body's flesh. It looked like some sort of insect, but was as big as a rabbit. 

"A parasite," he grumbled. One blast from his weapon later, and the little creature was in pieces. 

"Hey, he didn't do anything," Asuka scolded. "Why did you blast him?" 

"I can't stand big insects like that," Shinji mumbled. "The only thing I hate more than multi-limbed, crawly things are... Space Pirates." 

He looked at the scarred corpse of the pirate. There were several species known to become space pirates and attacking merchant ships or small colonies, just to plunder them. But there was one vicious alien species only known to the Federation as Space Pirates... 

They looked like they were a cross between a reptile, an insect and a human. Most of the time, they wore some sort of body suit, which looked like the exoskeleton of an insect. Attached to the arms were generators that could produce photon energy scythes for melee attacks, and Galvanic Accelerator Cannons, the Pirate's primary weapon. They speak their own language, although to human ears, it only sounds like an assortment of snarls and growls. When humanity first came in contact with this vicious species, they believed their culture to be pretty barbaric. But actually, the Space Pirates are dangerously intelligent beings: They have an own weapon technology and a big knowledge about how to decode a creature's DNA. That allows them to clone their own troops at an alarming rate. Up to now, the location of their real home planet, or what it was called, was unknown. 

But their goal was common knowledge to all members of the Federation: To become the supreme rulers of the galaxy by domineering and subduing all of the species they see as inferior... and that includes every other intelligent species of the known galaxy. 

"Space Pirates..." Shinji growled. "There are two possibilities: This vessel was attacked by them... or this is actually a Space Pirate frigate. If the latter one is true, we should turn around and let them rot here..." 

"But we still don't know that," Asuka pointed out. "What if they are just the invaders on this ship?" 

Shinji pointed towards the giant creature's corpse. "And what about that thing? Do you think federal spaceships would allow such a creature to be brought on board? No, I tell you, that's the result of one of their sick experiments." 

He kicked the dead pirate in the ribs. "Space Pirates... I hate them." 

Asuka turned her head and went back to the pile of crates they had been hiding behind. Several of them had long cracks in them, and a bluish shimmering substance could be seen on their inside. "I wonder what this stuff is," she murmured. 

Shinji walked up to her. "Beats me," he shrugged. "Doesn't look like anything I've seen before... perhaps some sort of mineral?"

Asuka looked at the writing on the boxes, but realized she didn't know the language. After hesitating a bit, she reached out with her hand to touch the blue stuff... 

Suddenly, they heard a low groan coming from behind the dead monster. It sounded strange, like a cross between gurgling and growling. 

They turned around. Shinji gripped his gun and stormed around the corpse. Asuka followed him. 

In a corner of the room, previously shielded from their eyes, another Space Pirate was lying, his legs trapped under some rubble. But... this one was alive, and was desperately flailing around his arms. 

When he saw the two humans, he turned around his head and growled at them.

Shinji snarled and raised his gun. Asuka shouted: "Shinji, wait..." But it was too late. Shinji pressed the trigger multiple times, and his laser shots hit the creature right into the chest. It roared and collapsed, now as dead as its brethren. 

"Why did you do that?" Asuka wanted to know. "We could have interrogated him on what happened here." 

"Didn't you see how he was already raising his cannon?" Shinji asked in a cold voice. "He was ready to shoot us. Besides, I don't think you would have understood him. Up to now, no translating device has been able to decipher their language. No, Asuka... it's best to shoot these creatures down once you see them." 

Asuka stared at him. "I know they are a vicious species, but... what makes you hate them so?" 

Shinji stared down at the ground. "You don't know it... Several years ago, my family was living in a colony on Mar Sara... it was a colony where mainly humans were living. We were happy there... and my mother was still alive. But then, one day... the Space Pirates attacked! Led by an enormous creature called Ridley, they attacked every single building, every single person, as if they prefer humans to be dead... They also killed my mother..." Tears flowed down Shinji's face as he recalled the events on that day. "If it wasn't for the federal troops, every single one of us would have been massacred. Finally, the Pirate's ship fled from the incoming air fleet of the Federation... 

It was only years later that my father told me... that it was that beast, Ridley... who killed my mother. He told me that beast was actually very intelligent and often acts as their leader. 

From that day on... I swore to myself to never show mercy to any Space Pirate I would see. And some day... I wanted to take revenge on Ridley..." 

He made his hands into fists while tears of anger flowed down his face. Asuka looked shocked. 

"Shinji... I didn't know..." 

He turned around to face her. "Now you know! And now I hope you understand why I never, never will hesitate to kill any Space Pirate I see." 

Shinji and Asuka continued their way through the corridors and rooms of the ship. Shinji was certain this was a Space Pirate frigate, but he agreed with Asuka when she told him they had to investigate what happened here. If the Space Pirates were coming up with another plot of taking over the galaxy, they had to report every single lead to HQ. 

On their way, they had encountered several other Space Pirates, either dead or seriously wounded. Whenever Shinji saw one, there was no way of stopping him: He was shooting them down with fierce eyes. 

After a while, Asuka asked: "This Ridley... I heard of him, but never really saw him. What's he like?" 

Shinji snorted. "Ridley is a bloodthirsty monster that loves hunting down helpless beings. But at the same time, he's also very clever. He often acts as the Pirates' tactician, planning their every step before they go into battle. He is also the one that comes up with most of their plans." 

"What does he look like?" 

Shinji sighed. "I can't clearly remember seeing him when they attacked Mar Sara, but I saw several pictures of him. He is a winged, dragon-like being with a long muzzle full of teeth. He has two arms and legs and a long, spiked tail. His skin is very robust and is covered with horns and ridges. He also is able to breath searing-hot plasma out of his mouth. He is one of the most dangerous predators in the known universe." 

"That doesn't sound too pleasant," Asuka said. Shinji nodded. "Yeah, I know... but the worst thing is, it looks like the Pirates are also able to clone him. Reports indicate that he must have died once in his life... It was after the Metroid incident, after the Pirates took control of planet Zebes and its cyborg computer system, the Mother Brain... They captured several of the strange creatures living on the planet SR-388 for their own purposes. The Federation had sent out a female bounty hunter... I still can't remember her name... who destroyed the Pirate base, the Mother Brain, Ridley and his lieutenant, the monster Kraid. But, several years later, Ridley appeared once again when the Pirates attacked a military base on one of the outer planets. That means either he didn't die that day... what is highly unlikely... or that they were able to clone him, somehow putting his consciousness into that new body." 

Asuka gaped. "If they can do that, it must be pretty hard to truly defeat them." 

"I know," Shinji said. "That's why we must... WATCH OUT!"

He pushed Asuka away, as a blast of energy was being fired at the place where she had been standing. Shinji looked up at the ceiling, where he could see a special device aiming for them. 

"An Automatic Defense Turret," he shouted. "Be careful! Their shots are lethal!" 

Asuka and Shinji quickly ran back behind the corner. Once the turret lost visual contact, it ceased firing. But once Shinji looked around the corner, it once again fired its blasts at him. 

Cursing, Shinji pulled back his head. "I hate those things," he mumbled. "And the corridor is so narrow... we can't both shoot at it without becoming easy targets ourselves. Let me try to shoot it down, okay?" 

Asuka looked at him and nodded nervously. 

Shinji quickly looked around the corner and fired several shots at the turret. Some actually hit it, but didn't seem to do anything. He quickly pulled back again. 

"Damn, this thing has to be covered in some kind of metal coating... my shots are useless." 

"What now?" Asuka asked. "Should we just run underneath it?"

Shinji shook his head. "Too dangerous! We would never make it to the next door. Damn, what to do..." 

Suddenly, the door they came from opened, and an armored figure appeared. The face they could see through the green visor was clearly female. The design of the suit was unlike anything they've seen before. Attached to the right arm was an impressive-looking cannon. 

The armored woman took one look at the turret, before stepping back to where Shinji and Asuka were hiding. 

"A special Defense Turret used by Space Pirates," she said simply. "I think I can get rid of it. You don't mind if I try my luck?"

Shinji gestured towards the corner. "Be my guest." 

From behind her helmet, the woman smiled. "Thanks." 

And she jumped around the corner. The turret instantly began firing again, but she dodged the shots with a nimble roll and raised her own weapon. Splitting off its tip came several metal ridges, as if she was changing into a different weapon mode. And out of the weapon's opening, a miniature missile came flying, surrounded by a blue trail of energy. It flew towards the turret and blasted it away. 

All that happened in only three seconds. 

The woman stood up. The metal ridges on her gun retracted themselves. She turned around. "Space Pirates like to use machines and barriers that can only be pierced by ballistic weapons. Remember that." 

"Wow," Shinji said. "The way she fights remembers me off that bounty hunter that fought the Space Pirates and Metroids on Zebes." He scratched his head. "If I could only remember her name..." 

The woman smirked at him. "The name's Samus. Samus Aran." 

She walked up to them. "I guess you're also here because of that distress signal, right?" 

Asuka nodded. "Yes, we were on a scouting mission when the signal reached our ship. We were wondering why a federation ship would be here, that far from every trading route or federal outpost." 

"It's a Space Pirate frigate," Samus explained. "That much I've found out until now. And as mostly no federal ships would appear in this space sector, the signal originally wasn't meant for us to receive... what in turn means there has to be a pirate base somewhere around here, or at least another frigate..." 

"I knew it," Shinji grumbled. "I we wouldn't have been on this mission, we wouldn't have found this hidden ship. I'm sure they are up to no good again..." 

"That's true," the bounty hunter sighed. "I scanned their computers and realized that they are experimenting with some sort of unknown substance that is mutating the bodies of other life forms when being exposed to it for too long." 

"That blue stuff in the metal crates?" Asuka asked. Samus nodded. Asuka yelped. "And I almost touched that stuff." 

"But wait a minute," Shinji said. "Hoe were you able to decipher the Pirates' language, or even gain access to their computers?" 

Samus smiled and tipped against her helmet. Instantly, her green visor took on a light blue color. "The Scan Visor," she explained. "A very useful tool on my journeys. I can use it to scan creatures and special objects, unlock certain doors and decipher unknown languages." 

She let her gaze sweep over Asuka, scanning her. 

"Female human," she murmured. "Wearing standard space ranger clothes. Special synthetic fiber technology detected, allowing the space ranger more freedom of movement, while still being protected from space vacuum. Armed with a standard laser-pistol." 

"Wow, now that's a piece of high-tech," Asuka said in awe. "Your whole suit seems to be something special. Where did you get it?"

Samus turned off her Scan Visor and sighed. "It was a present... from the Chozo. I spent most of my childhood under their care. They also infused me with some of their blood, granting me the use of their technology." 

"The Chozo..." Shinji repeated. "Awesome... they're a race of wise, bird-like people, right? Possessing psychic powers and originally living on Zebes..." 

"That's right," Samus replied. "But I'm afraid we don't have not much time to talk about my past... whatever killed those Space Pirates is still around here somewhere. I'd guess one of their research experiments broke out and the situation got out of control."

"Should we leave and contact HQ?" Shinji asked nervously. Samus shook her head. "No, I want to access more of their computers... maybe we can find out what they're up to. And this blue substance... it really disturbs me somehow." 

Asuka nodded. "Yeah, me too. Let's go together, okay?" 

Samus smirked. "Fine by me. By the way, I didn't get your names..."

"Oh, sorry! I'm Asuka Soryu Langley, pleased to meet you!" 

"Shinji Ikari," Shinji said. "Nice to meet a legend like yourself, Samus! What you did on Zebes was amazing!" 

"Please," Samus seemed bashful. "The Federation always likes to exaggerate... I only defeated their leaders... the rest of the base and the Metroids only got destroyed because their mainframe, the Mother Brain, had initiated a self-destruct sequence... The explosion of the bomb destroyed everything." 

"Well, now that that's settles, could we go on?" Asuka wanted to know. "I don't want to become lunch of... of... of whatever killed those pirates." 

"I agree," Samus said. "Let's go!" 

* * *

They marched on. In another research facility, they stumbled over a small group of Space Pirates, wounded ones as well as two pirates that were only lightly injured. When they spotted them, they could see just HOW formidable Samus was in combat. It seems she is showing the Space Pirates no more mercy than Shinji does... 

After the battle, Samus lowered her gunarm, which was still smoking from the rapidly fired Power Beam. "Bastards..." she snarled, then walked over to the computer consoles. 

Asuka gulped. "Shinji, it looks like you have found yourself a soulmate." 

Shinji looked at her grimly, but didn't respond. 

Suddenly, Samus let out a whistle. "Wow, looks like I hit the jackpot! This is a Pirate's Log... listen to that... 

'Zebes has fallen. All ground personnel are presumed dead, either killed by the Hunter clad in metal or in the subsequent destruction of the underground facilities. Our research frigates Orpheon, Siriacus and Vol Paragom were in orbit at zero hour and managed to retreat. Frigate Orpheon is now docked at Vortex Outpost. Orpheon's cargo appears to have a 100 survival rate: Metroids are healthy but on restricted feeding schedules due to uncertain supply status. We are ready to begin research on the Metroids and other promising life-forms. Security status remains at Code Blue: no signs of pursuit from the Hunter.'" 

"Sounds like your mission on planet Zebes, Samus," Asuka pondered. "That means you must be that 'hunter clad in metal'." 

"Yes, it also explains how, after their main base was destroyed, the Space Pirates still were around to attack colonies and ships of the Federation... they simply had other bases in addition to that on Zebes." 

"Looks also like they still have some Metroids in captivity," Shinji said. "I wonder if their base is situated on Tallon IV..." 

"Most likely," Samus sighed. "I think I will pay the planet a little visit... but only after I finished searching for clues up here." 


	2. Ridley's Revival

"So, you two are here on a scouting mission?" Samus asked as they rode an elevator down to the lower decks.

"That's right," Shinji explained. "My father is a leading officer in the federal air fleet."

"Hmmm, you said your name was Ikari? Wouldn't your father be, by any chance, Gendo Ikari?"

"Yes," Shinji said in surprise. "You know him?"

Samus laughed. "Not personally. But I heard from him. But not really good things... They say he is arrogant and likes to order around his subordinates. No one really likes working under his command."

"Sounds just like him," Shinji sighed. "Well, I don't see him that often lately... but I can't say that bothers me that much."

"What about your mother?" Samus asked. "Does she get along with him?"

Shinji looked down. "My mother is dead," he said.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that," Samus said in a sympathetic voice. "My parents are dead as well... Space Pirates have killed them..."

"My mother was also killed by them," Shinji said. "On Mar Sara..."

"My parents lived on K-2L," Samus explained. "A mining colony. I was the only survivor... afterwards, the Chozo came. They took pity on me and took me to their home planet, Zebes. Later, when I got older, I left the planet with the Power Suit they gave me and started my career as a bounty hunter. But... when the Space Pirates invaded Zebes, they... they killed the entire population... so no one of the Chozo is still alive."

Shinji felt pity for her. He lost his mother, but Samus lost both her parents as well as her 'foster parents' to the Space Pirates. Her hatred towards them must be even deeper than his own. He wondered if Ridley had been present on the attack on K-2L...

Then, the elevator came to a stop and they stepped outside. They were standing in a small room, and in front of them, there was a big door.

Asuka looked around. "No handle or anything to open it," she said. "Only this strange device on the floor. Hey, there's some text written here. Samus, can you read it?"

Once again, Samus activated her Scan Visor. She chuckled when she finished translating. "Insert metal ball to open door."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Shinji asked. "There are no balls around here."

"I guess I can improvise," Samus grinned. "Stand back... and don't be alarmed."

And with a sudden movement, her whole body curled itself up, while her Power Suit reformed itself to compress the bounty hunter in its inside. Samus now resembled what was needed to open the door... a metal ball!

Shinji uncertainly bent forward and looked at the ball. "Um, Samus..." he said. "You still in there?"

"Of course," her muffled voice shouted. "Now, get back! I need space to roll around."

Asuka shook her head. "This is SO freaky..."

"Oh, thanks for the compliment," Samus replied. "If it wasn't for this 'freaky' feature of the Power Suit, many of my adventures would have resulted in failure." The Samus-ball rolled around on the floor. "This is what I call the 'Morph Ball' mode. I can freely control where I'm going, and I can use it to enter narrow passages that would be inaccessible for me otherwise. Even while crawling, my body would still be too big for many of the passages I can roll through as Morph Ball."

She rolled into the device on the ground, and for a short time, got locked into it, while the door in front of them opened. The device released the Morph Ball, and Samus uncurled. She stood up and flexed her shoulders. "Oh man, but it sure is cramped inside that thing."

Carefully, they entered the next room. In front of them, the big reactor of the ship was situated, surrounded by a forcefield. Around the reactor, a metal catwalk was leading.

Directly behind the entrance, several dead Space Pirates were lying. Samus knelt down next to one of them. "Their bodies are still warm... and look, something used that one as a source of food. I think whatever killed them is still around... stay on guard!"

The two space rangers nodded and gripped their weapons. Carefully, they walked further into the room.

Suddenly, a big shape came climbing down from above. An ugly, insectoid head was looking out of the shadows, as it roared at its prey. Drops of acid were falling from his mouth. It climbed down, into the force field and kept hold of the energy generators. Several of the generators that were producing the force field were being knocked down by the creature's legs, as it hung over the reactor and stared at the three humans.

"A... parasite?" Shinji gasped.

Samus shook her head. "A parasite queen. But I've never seen one that big... or one that could produce acid. Be careful, you two!"

The insect reared back and spit a green stream of acid at them, but they managed to get away in time.

Samus quickly scanned the creature. "It's weak point is it's mouth. Aim for it... but be careful! The forcefield can block your shots!"

"Why doesn't it block the acid?" Asuka yelled while dodging another acid splash.

"The force field only protects against energy... not against fluids. Use those gaps in the force field to your advantage."

Shinji nodded. "Got it!" 

* * *

'I'm awake... after that long time... I can feel it... my new power... flowing through my body...' 

* * *

"Take this, you ugly bug," Asuka yelled and fired at the clamps that kept the force field generator connected to the ceiling. Three shots, and one of the clamps broke apart, and the parasite queen lost her hold. Stumbling down into the reactor's core, she let out an inhuman wail. 

* * *

'Something... is here. Someone around here... A fight...? Without me...? I want to rip my enemies apart... with my claws... my teeth... my tail...' 

* * *

The queen rose up again, trying to climb out of the core, but one final missile from Samus pushed her back. As she stumbled back into the core, her body was being consumed by the enormous heat.

"We got her," Shinji shouted in triumph. But then, a sudden surge of energy ripped the reactor apart.

And all over the place, red warning lights began blinking. From Samus' suit, a computer voice called: "Evacuate immediately! Evacuate immediately! 7 minutes left to escape!"

"Not again..." Samus sighed. "Hurry, I fear the monster has disrupted the energy core's power flow, and in a few minutes, this whole ship will crash down into the planet's atmosphere." 

* * *

'An explosion... it's too dangerous. I have to escape...

No, I'm still not ready... must stay... must be completed...' 

* * *

"Dang," Asuka shouted. "We can't reach the door we came in."

"Then we just have to take the other route!"

"But Samus," Asuka protested. "We don't know if we make it in time if we go that way."

"Well, we surely won't make it if you just stand there and waste more time."

"Samus is right, Asuka," Shinji said. "We have to hurry!"

"6 and a half minutes left to escape!" 

* * *

'That voice... I know it from somewhere... But why do I hear it now...? Doesn't matter... I have to break free, once I'm at my full power... 

* * *

They entered yet another research facility.

"Be careful," Asuka shouted as a big monster broke out of its tank, killing two Space Pirates at once with a swipe. But then, a big pile of rubble rained down from the ceiling and buried it alive.

"5 and a half minutes left to escape!"

"That's our chance," Samus shouted and used the rubble as stairs to reach the upper level. She instantly got attacked by another Space Pirate that was waiting for her, but she reacted fast and blasted him.

* * *

'Now... it's almost time... This time, we will gain the ultimate power of the universe... and nothing will be able to stop us...' 

* * *

Another explosion ripped off the lid of a ventilation shaft. "Quick, get in there," Samus shouted. "We will use it as a shortcut back to the ships."

The other two followed her, when suddenly, a large crawling mass of green bodies came scurrying towards them.

"Gyaaaah," Asuka screamed. "Parasites! Millions of parasites!"

"We don't have the time to kill them all," Shinji said. "Just clench your teeth and run through!"

SCRUNCH! SCRUNCH! SCRUNCH! SQUIRT! SCRUNCH! SQUIRT!

"Eeeeew..." Asuka groaned as she wiped the remains of a parasite from her visor. "Can this day even get more messy?"

"4 minutes left to escape!" 

* * *

'They're almost here... I have to get away... those cables... I have to rip them apart... there... my power-up is almost complete...' 

* * *

They stumbled into another room. Shinji looked around. "Where's the exit?"

Then, a loud screech could be heard from above.

They looked up. There, sitting on some metal girders, ripping away several cables from his skin, sat one of the most terrible creatures this galaxy had to offer. A monster Shinji and Samus saw in their nightmares...

"RIDLEY!"

The enormous space dragon glared at them. He flexed his claws and let out another screech.

'It's them... why are they here? No, I cannot stay... it's too dangerous... have to escape... have to get to the planet... and make sure everything will work just as planned...'

Ridley looked upwards into the shaft that was above his head, spread his wings and pushed himself away from his perch. The metal bars got ripped apart under the strength of the flying beast and clattered to the ground. Samus and Shinji looked after him as he flew up into the shaft, soon losing sight of him.

"Hey, we have to get out of here," Asuka shouted. "We're nearly out of time. Samus, got any idea how we're going to reach that door up there?"

Samus looked up at the remaining girders. "Yes, I think so... Asuka, come here."

"3 minutes left to escape!"

Asuka ran up to her and Samus let her step onto the solid foot of her Power Suit. "Now hold on tight!" She raised her left arm and shot a blue-shimmering beam out of a little device that was attached to it. The magnetic Grapple Beam attached itself to the metal bars, and Samus pushed herself off the ground. Swinging up to the door, she helped Asuka getting up as well.

Shinji got nervous. Ridley was here... that means the Space Pirates are up to something big... His gaze wandered through the room... and by pure coincidence, fell onto a monitor that was on the wall. He froze.

On one monitor, several images of Ridley could be seen. According to those images, his new form was being provided with several new upgrades, such as a metal coating on his skin.

But Shinji wasn't looking there. Directly next to that, on the monitor on the right, was the image of a young human boy...

A boy he knew well...

"Kaworu..." he whispered.

Samus landed next to him. "What's the matter with you? Come on, we have to get out of here."

Shinji forced himself to look away from the image and let Samus pull himself up to the exit. Samus deactivated her Grapple Beam, and together, they continued running for their life.

"2 minutes left to escape!" 

* * *

"1 minute left to escape!"

"We're almost there," Samus shouted. "Just through the air lock..."

A big explosion shook the room behind them around, as they reached the docking platform. They ran towards their ships...

When suddenly, a flying behemoth swooped down from above, grabbed the 'Yui' with his claws and pulled her upwards. He let her fly... and while Ridley continued his flight towards Tallon IV, the ship of Shinji and Asuka slowly drifted away.

"30 seconds left to escape!"

"Our ship..." Asuka groaned.

"We can take mine," Samus yelled. "Hurry, the frigate is entering the atmosphere..."

"10 seconds left to escape!"

They all struggled into the cramped cockpit of Samus' yellow gunship.

"5... 4... 3... 2... 1..."

Samus took off... and behind them, the frigate was plummeting down towards the orange planet, while still being shaken by explosions.

"Now what are we gonna do?" Asuka mumbled. "How are we gonna contact HQ?"

"Well, my ship can only broadcast at close range," Samus explained. "I'm sorry, but it looks like you're stuck with me for a while... and I'm going down to that planet and see what Ridley and the pirates are up to, no way around it."

"Yeah," Shinji nodded. "Me too. I have to find out what's going on..."

Especially what the Space Pirates had done to his old friend. And if Kaworu was still alive, he certainly was down there, on that planet...

Tallon IV. 

* * *

Ridley... or Meta-Ridley, as he was now called after his upgrade, had no problems of shaking off his pursuers. By hiding in the clouds, he was almost untraceable. Soaring on silent wings, he felt like he was the ultimate predator.

And now he was even deadlier...

When breaking through the clouds, he finally saw his destination.

From above, the big crater looked like an evil eye that was directly gazing into outer space... and above it, a small structure was floating, connected to the main land with a thin bridge.

Below the enormous pit, Ridley could feel it... the masses of that substance his pirates were digging out, to become the ultimate species of the galaxy...

The Phazon.

Near the crater, he could see several buildings marking the entrance to the main facilities on the planet... the Phazon Mines! It was here where they dug up the substance that was so valuable to them. Near the crater, most of the Phazon could be found.

What a pity that they couldn't dig directly underneath the crater, where the largest, purest amount of Phazon was waiting for them. But sadly, the crater was surrounded by a powerful force field, impenetrable for every weapon system they tried out. It even surrounded it underground.

Those damn Chozo... if they only hadn't constructed this temple... everything would be so much easier...

Ridley descended and landed softly in the entrance area of the mines. Several Pirate Troopers were waiting for him.

They greeted him with several screeches and growls, but Ridley could understand them perfectly.

('Lord Ridley! An honor to see you again, sir!')

('Yeah, yeah, whatever,') grumbled the winged alien. ('Report... how are we faring?')

('Well, shaft Gamma and Delta are still our main resources, sir,') the trooper reported. ('And we are making great progress with experimental soldier 'Epsilon'. We believe he will be ready for his first mission in three cycles.')

('Very good,') Ridley chuckled. ('Now, I want you to alert every single unit, as well as our secondary base in Phendrana... The Hunter has arrived on Tallon IV.')

The troopers were shocked. ('A... are you certain, sir?') they hissed in fear.

('Of course I am,') Ridley snapped in annoyance. ('But don't worry... This time, she won't be able to stop us... We have several surprises waiting for her... And when we reach the middle of the crater... we will be unstoppable, and even the Hunter won't be able to harm us.')

('Well, if you say so, sir...')

('Now... what about project 'EVA'? Are you making any progress?')

('Well, most of the subjects are weak in comparison with the original... but the latest results of our research are showing promise... Units 003 to 001 are stronger and healthier than any of the previous examples. Our hope lies within the final subject... Unit 00! If our predictions turn out to be true, we will have a fierce warrior that has almost the same abilities as the original.')

Ridley let out a screeching laugh. ('Excellent... These are truly glorious times. The Hunter will have no chance if what you said is true. But now, let us go inside. I want to see the latest results by myself.')

('Sir, perhaps you should transform first...')

('I know that, you imbecile...')

And the draconic alien raised his head while folding his wings and curling his tail around his waist. He stood up to his full height and crossed his arms over his chest. He closed his eyes.

A glowing aura began surrounding his body, so bright that no one could see through it. His body was completely shielded from the outside. Only his outline was visible. But then, slowly, it began to shrink and change shape...

And when the glowing aura disappeared, a much smaller, human form was standing on the ground.

The commander of the Space Pirate troops looked up and grinned. "Let's go..." 

* * *

It was getting dark when Samus, Shinji and Asuka climbed out of the gunship. The raindrops were flowing down Samus' visor. Asuka and Shinji had taken off their helmets, as the atmosphere was almost identical to Earth... fresh and full of oxygen.

The ship was hovering over the ground while they got out. They were standing in a big valley between several hills. All around them, different types of plants were growing... shrubs, ferns, mushrooms... At a small distance, they could see a small lake.

"It's getting dark soon," Samus pointed out. "We should search for a place to shelter."

"Why can't we just stay here?" Shinji asked.

"This place is too far in the open," Samus explained. "We could be easily attacked from all sides."

"And what about the ship?" Asuka asked. Samus grinned. "Don't worry, it'll be safe. It's hull is unbreakable when it's completely sealed off... and no one will be able to open the hatch, not even the Space Pirates."

"Okay, if you say so... Well, let's try searching over there." Asuka pointed towards a rocky cliff. "Perhaps there are some caves."

"Good idea," Samus nodded, and they left. 

* * *

And indeed, they found a cave. It was a little gloomy, but dry and safe. There were even big mushrooms growing at the cavern walls that gave off a shining light.

"I'd say this tunnel leads to a bigger cave," Samus said. "If that's the truth, we can camp in there."

"Finally," Asuka sighed. "I'm so tired, I could fall asleep right here..."

They followed the tunnel, which led them around a corner. They continued and...

Samus stopped. "Wait," she whispered. "There's someone there."

"Space Pirates?" Shinji whispered back.

"I'm not sure," Samus said. "But it's clearly not a wild animal... Stand back..."

With her beam cannon slightly raised, she slowly went around the next corner. She could hear the footsteps and the breathing of the other person approaching them.

She turned around... and found herself face-to-face with a human, a middle-aged man carrying a plasma rifle. They both sighed. "Lady, you sure can give a man a heart attack," the man said. "I thought you were a Space Pirate."

"I thought the same of you," Samus replied. Then, she called her friends: "Don't worry! You can come out. It's a human!"

The pony-tailed man shouldered his rifle and grinned. "Hey, I have a name, you know? Kaji Ryoji, at your service."

"My name is Samus Aran, and these are my friends Asuka and Shinji. We were following the pirate commander Ridley to this planet, but lost sight of him on our way."

The man named Kaji whistled. "THE Ridley? On this planet? Wow, and here I thought it would only be a small outpost of them. My partner and I are here to search for rare minerals... we also saw some old ruins in the jungle, so perhaps there are some old artifacts or other treasures..."

"You're treasure hunters," Asuka sighed. "Oh boy..."

"Hey, you have a problem with that?"

"Well, treasure hunters are known to collect all kinds of valuable objects and selling them for their own profit... while the laws of the Galactic Federation state that every ancient artifact that is being found, may it be valuable or not, has to be reported to the Archaeological Institute of Ancient Civilizations."

Kaji grinned. "The Federation is far away, right? That's why we chose this planet... we really were surprised when we realized that the Space Pirates were here, though." He sighed. "Now they shot down our ship... and we're stuck here." He looked at them hopefully. "You came here with a ship, right? Would you let us come with you?"

"Well, it looks like we aren't leaving this planet for a while," explained Shinji. "And I don't think two other people would fit inside the ship..."

Samus nodded. "Under normal circumstances, it only seats the pilot. I only took them with me because Ridley wrecked their own ship."

"Man, that sucks," grumbled the treasure hunter. "But, anyways, I should go back. My partner's getting worried, I'm sure. Hey, you can stay the night with us. It's mighty comfortable in this cave if you have food, warm blankets and a big supply of beer." He grinned.

They followed him into the bigger cave, where several sleeping bags, blankets and other stuff was lying around. A big tent was standing in one corner of the cave. Someone was moving around inside.

"Yo, Misato," Kaji shouted. "I'm back! And we got some guests!"

A beautiful woman came out of the tent with a smile. "Hey, how nice to have guests. Make yourselves at home... our cave is your cave!"

"Thank you," Samus replied, smiling behind her visor. "We were looking for a sheltered place to spend the night, but we never thought we would find other humans around here."

"Well," the violet-haired woman said. "We weren't expecting any visitors, but I hope what we have will be sufficient... Camping style food, beer, even some coke for those who don't drink alcohol... a deadly sin, in my eyes." Her cute wink told them she wasn't too serious.

Asuka groaned as she sunk down on a blanket. "You don't mind, do you?" she asked Kaji and Misato. "I'm so beat... after what we went through, I think I can sleep for hours."

"Why, what happened to you?" asked Misato curiously.

"We just escaped from a Space Pirate frigate that was about to crash down to the planet, fought a giant parasite queen and had to wade through masses of parasites."

Misato grimaced. "Doesn't sound to comfortable..." Then she recognized the emblem of the Federation on Shinji's suit. "You're from the Federation?" she gasped.

"Yes, but don't worry: We're no troopers, we're just scouts," Shinji assured her. "We've originally come here to explore this sector. So you have nothing to fear."

"Well, that's good to hear," Misato said in relief.

Samus sat down on the hard cave ground, without any blanket. Her thick armor wouldn't let her feel the hard surface of the floor, after all.

Kaji looked at her. "Say, don't you ever take off that suit?"

"Not when I'm on an unknown planet," the bounty hunter explained. "I like to be prepared... I wear that suit most of the time. By now, it's almost like a second skin to me."

"And you always wear it, nothing else? Phew!" Kaji waved his hand. "I don't think I'll try out how you're smelling by now."

"Hey, I take baths regularly," Samus shouted. "And I change my body suit underneath."

"I'm thirsty," Asuka mumbled. "I think I'll have a beer... Misato, you have one?"

"You drink beer?" Misato smirked. "Hey, how old are you anyways?"

"Hey, I turned 16 two months ago," Asuka said. "I can drink anything I want."

Misato looked around. "Well, I think we have to catch some from our stash... I already emptied all of the other cans."

"It's okay! Where is your 'stash'?"

"Well, it's in the tent, but..."

"Okay, I'll get some myself," Asuka said.

"Hey, wait a second..."

But before Misato could say anything more, Asuka already crawled into the tent...

...and found herself looking directly into the muzzle of a machine gun.

"Wark!"

Asuka blinked. Standing in front of her, holding the MG and wearing a bandoleer with ammunition, was a small penguin, guarding a large pile of beer cans.

Asuka nervously crawled back outside. The penguin followed her, all the time aiming at her forehead.

"W-w-what...?" Asuka stuttered.

"Sorry, I wasn't able to tell you in time," Misato smirked. "Pen Pen can be VERY protective of our beer stash..." He made a reassuring gesture towards the penguin. "It's all right, Pen Pen. She's a friend! She can have one of the beer cans, right?"

"Wark?"

"Please?"

Pen Pen shrugged. "Wark..." He lowered his MG and waddled back inside. Suddenly, a single beer can came flying towards Asuka. She quickly caught it.

"Um... thanks," she said.


	3. Ninjas and Clones

Author's Note: The guest character that appears in this chapter is from the game Soul Calibur. To understand why she is here, you need to read another story of mine… which I haven't posted yet. 

* * *

The next day, Samus and her new escorts were walking through the subtropical jungle area of Tallon. After a quick breakfast, they had decided to say goodbye to Misato and Shinji, as the two treasure hunters wanted to avoid running into Space Pirates. But Kaji told them that they would most likely stay in this area, so if they needed a place to spend the night, they could always come back. 

"Well, I'm glad we left those two," Asuka declared. "They were treasure hunters, and what they plan to do is against the Federation's laws. And did you see how that Kaji grinned every time he looked at me?" 

"I think they were pretty nice," Shinji commented. "Even if their penguin was a little bit strange..." 

Samus quickly shot down a beetle that was attempting to attack them, then she said: "Shinji... you told me how you saw a picture of your friend aboard the frigate, right?" 

Shinji nodded with a sigh. "Yeah... Kaworu." 

"Tell me about this 'Kaworu'. What's he like? You have any idea what the Space Pirates would want from him?" 

"Not really," Shinji replied. "We were closest friends when we still went to school. He was kinda like a brother to me. We always started making new theories about the most crazy things." Shinji chuckled. "Those were crazy times, I tell you..." 

"When did you see him the last time?" Samus asked. 

"After we finished school," Shinji explained. "I went to the space academy, but never managed to become a trooper. So my father decided to make me a scout. That's when I first met Asuka." 

"And Kaworu? What did he do?" 

"Last time I saw him, he told me about he was going to work for some military organization... perhaps he's a soldier by now." 

"Perhaps he really became a good soldier, and the pirates captured him when they fought each other," Samus speculated. 

"Perhaps..." Shinji said. "But I have the feeling it's something else..."

"Hey!" Asuka interrupted their conversation. "Look at that!" 

She pointed at a big stone wall that rose before them. Over a small archway, ancient runes and reliefs were being carved. 

"I wonder if those are the same old ruins Kaji told us about," Asuka said. 

"Might be," Shinji replied. 

Samus stepped closer. "Wait a minute... this relief..." She pulled away some ivy that had grown over a part of the wall. 

Underneath, the carved picture of a bird-head could be seen. 

"The Chozo..." Samus mumbled. "These walls were being constructed by the Chozo..." 

* * *

Back where Samus' gunship was lying, everything was quiet. A colorful bird flew out of the jungle, saw down on the ship and pecked on some berries he had been carrying. After a while, he flew away. 

Suddenly, a bright flash of light appeared in the middle of the valley. The shining sphere of light released a human figure, before disappearing.

The female figure breathed heavily, then stood up and looked around. Satisfied that no enemy was near, she sheathed her two short swords. 

"Well, nice place," Taki snickered. "Now where to find my prey...?" 

She looked down at her new outfit. While similar to her old kunoichi outfit, this suit was more fit for a space ranger than a ninja. Her facial mask also looked more futuristic. The skulls and bones of the demons she slew still decorated her garments, though. And while her beloved Mekki-Maru still looked like before, the corrupted blade, Rekki-Maru, which she used primarily before finding Mekki-Maru, had been radically altered. It now consisted of a handle and a sword-like blade that still was pretty sharp... but now, there was also a button on the handle. Whenever Taki pressed it, it was able to surround the blade with a field of electricity. 

All in all, Taki still looked like a ninja, but a very futuristic one. 

Taki looked around. "Well, they've been here a short while ago," she said while looking at the gunship. She closely searched around the grass and bushes for hints. 

Finally, she looked towards the cliff. "So, they've gone that way," she said to herself. "Well, let the hunt begin..." 

And while stealthily approaching the cliff, she murmured to herself: 

"Space Ninja Space Ninja Go, Go Ninja Go Ninja Go, Go go go go!" 

* * *

"The Chozo..." Samus murmured. "Here, on this planet? That far away from Zebes? Maybe... maybe not all of them were being killed after all." 

"What do the runes say?" asked Shinji. "Can you translate them?"

Samus scanned them quickly. "It's ancient Chozo lore," she murmured. "Listen to this... 

'We Chozo are departing now, after so many years in peaceful seclusion here on Tallon IV. When we came, this place was a refuge for our spirits, a civilization built from native materials, bereft of the trappings of our technology. We were linked to the land here, kindred to the plants and animals, far away from the machines we had become so dependent on. And so we leave it now, pristine, a testament to the mortal forms we no longer need. We have drawn the veils of time and space aside, and are withdrawing beyond the illusion. But we will never forget this, the most sacred of our homes. And we will remain ever watchful.'" 

Samus nodded. "I see now... Some of the Chozo saw that the technology the residents of Zebes were producing could be their downfall... so they established this sanctuary here on Tallon IV... And how things turned out, it looks like they were right..." 

"But they said they were parting," Asuka pointed out. "Does that mean they moved on and colonized yet another planet? Because these ruins surely look like they are very old." 

Samus sighed. "Well, we should investigate them anyways... Perhaps we find some signs on what happened really." 

Shinji almost asked: 'Weren't we planning on finding the base of the pirates?', but he remained silent. He realized how important this had to be for Samus. The Chozo had been her second family, after all... 

They went through the archway and entered a big plaza which looked like it was situated in the middle of the ruins. Several archways, stone bridges and entrances were leading further inside the ruins. Trees and other plants were growing around the bridges and windows of the buildings, showing the harmony in which the Chozo lived with nature. 

'Totally different from Zebes,' Samus thought. 'They respected nature as well, but they also used their impressive form of technology. The most advanced success has been the Mother Brain... and that turned out to be their demise...' 

Samus sighed and thought back to her childhood. Even back then, when Mother Brain was still a protector of the Chozo, she didn't like the soulless being, trapped inside that enormous tank, a mixture of a machine and a living being. 

She also thought back to her old friend and mentor, 'Old Bird'... 

* * *

"Samus, you have to remember that the Mother Brain is here to help us. It will protect us from any harm and in times of need, it always can tell us what to do." 

"But Old Bird," little Samus protested. "She is always so mean. I wanted to talk to her, and she sends me away every time." 

Old Bird blinked. "She?" 

"Of course," Samus replied. "She's called 'Mother Brain', right? Well, even if I think there's not much of a mother in her, it means it's a 'she', right?" 

The old Chozo chuckled. "I can't argue with that logic. But Samus, you have to realize that the Mother Brain is a computer... not a human or a Chozo. She has no feelings and her main job is to keep the planet in order. She has no time to play like you." 

"Aw, I feel sorry for her," Samus pouted. 

* * *

Even when she got older, Samus never liked the Mother Brain. She respected the choice of the Chozo to listen to its advice, but in her eyes, people should make their own decisions. And a machine always was too easy to manipulate... And that's how it got under control of the Space Pirates. 

Samus smiled as she remembered her days on planet Zebes, learning from Old Bird and playing in the sun... 

She chuckled when she imagined how a Mother Brain would be like if it had feelings like a small child, always wanting to play. Would the Chozo have listened to it even in that case? 

"What's the matter?" Asuka asked. "What's so funny?" 

"Oh, it's nothing," Samus quickly said. "Just memories... memories of a time long ago..." 

* * *

"Seriously, Samus, just how long are we going to walk through these corridors?" Asuka asked in a bored tone while blasting yet another War Wasp. "There are no Chozo here, blasting those critters is getting boring, and all you did up to now was looking at a couple of writings I couldn't even read if I had a doctoral level in French and Japanese." 

"Those messages are important, I know it," insisted Samus. "I have deciphered all of them, but they mostly make not much sense. They talk about some 'Hatchling' and a big 'plague' that is threatening their world, but nothing tells me where they are now or who this 'Hatchling' is supposed to be." 

"Actually, I don't know if we should take those writings serious," Shinji said. "They are telling us about some big plague that has spread over the planet, but all of the plants and animals we've seen up to now are perfectly all right." 

That's when they entered another room. 

In front of them, an artfully crafted fountain was standing, shooting its fluids up into the air in a beautiful spray... 

...only that it wasn't water the fountain was spraying. It was some green liquid. 

"Oh my god," Asuka said while holding her nose. "That stuff stinks. What IS this?" 

"Scanning..." Samus murmured. When finished, she sighed. "Poison... the water flowing through the ruins is poisoned." 

Shinji looked at the little canals leading from the fountain to various drains. "I bet those drains are leading to wells or fountains all over the ruins. No wonder this place is deserted. I wonder where the fountain is retrieving its water from." 

"I think there is a bigger water canal underneath here," Samus said. "This fountain is used to direct the water all over the buildings..." 

"That means whatever poisoned the water must sit at its source," Asuka said. "I get it. So that's the big plague they are writing about..." 

"Looks like it," Shinji nodded. "But that leaves the question who or what this 'Hatchling' is who is going to save the world." 

"Perhaps whoever cleanses the water again," Samus guessed. "I mean, it doesn't sound like much work, does it? Perhaps the Chozo like to make the matter sound mysterious and impressive... I mean, regarding how important water is for living beings..." 

"I say we search for the water source and see if we can do something to stop the poisoning," Asuka suggested. 

"I agree," Samus nodded. "The Chozo may never return to this place, but it's always a good thing to do. Who knows, perhaps once other people will settle down in these ruins, and they will be thankful for what we've done." 

"Okay, any clues on where the water comes from?" Asuka asked. 

"Only this one," Samus murmured. "'The Poisonous One is searching the sun.' Maybe we should look for a sunny place..." 

"Then it's outside, not here," Asuka pointed out. "Well, I think that will take some time..." 

'Great,' Shinji thought grimly. 'And who knows what Ridley and the Space Pirates are doing in the meantime...' 

* * *

While the three heroes were starting their search for the water source, someone was watching them from the shadows. As they left the room, a dark shape dropped down from the ceiling. 

'I think I let them live a little longer,' Taki decided. 'I'd like to know just how formidable opponents they would be... If they are weak, I can kill them anytime... but I want to make it a challenge!' 

She pulled out her Mekki-Maru and stroked the dark shimmering blade. "Patience, dear," she purred. "Soon enough, you'll drink their blood... and three more souls will be sacrificed to Soul Edge!" 

She snickered maliciously. 

* * *

"C'mon, Misato, let's take a break... we walked for hours now, and there's still no trace of any valuable minerals..." 

"I KNOW they're here somewhere, trust me," Kaji's female partner said in a determined voice. "When we entered the atmosphere, I could see the mines... so that means the pirates must be digging for something. I wonder what kinds of minerals there are?" 

Her eyes started gleaming. "Perhaps Silver? Gold? Tricium? Diamonds? Oh, we're gonna be rich!" 

"Well, if that's true, please buy me some new legs, I think these are all worn out..." 

"Wark!"

"What's the matter, Pen Pen?" Misato asked. 

"Wark!"

"Oh, Pen Pen is tired... Okay, let's have a little break." 

"Great..." Kaji mumbled. "When the penguin is tired, we're having a break... But if it's little ol' me, noooo..." 

Misato dropped her backpack and took a deep breath. "Oh, how I love the fresh air of this planet. If it weren't for the pirates, I could imagine living here..." 

Kaji just nodded. He was too tired to talk. 

Suddenly, he looked up. He grabbed his rifle. "Misato, someone is there," he whispered. 

"Where?" she asked. 

"Everywhere! We're surrounded..." 

And then, several dark shapes came into view... Misato also grabbed her gun. "Space Pirate troopers," she noted. "Eight or nine of them. And we have no chance of escaping... just great..."

The pirates were savagely growling and hissing at them. Some of them waved around their plasma blades menacingly. 

"Okay, how are we going to do this?" Kaji asked. "Any plans?"

"Just one," Misato said and smirked. "But a very good one." 

She leaned forward and whispered something into her penguin's ear: "Pen Pen, those evil pirates are here to steal all of our beer! We can't let them get away with that, can we?" 

Pen Pen's face took on a grim look as the pirates approached. Snarling as best as a penguin could, he picked up his MG and jumped towards the superior number of Space Pirates. 

No pirate was stealing his beer today! 

"WAAAAARRRRKK!"

BLAMBLAMBLAMBLAMBLAM!

Kaji just watched how the little penguin was massacring the pirates with his machine gun. "Misato, I don't know about you, but... this bird creeps me out! Seriously!" 

* * *

"So, this is it?" Asuka mumbled. "I was expecting something more... challenging. But a plant? A goddamned plant? THAT'S the planet's plague? Aw, come on..." 

"Be careful," Samus told her as they entered the big, circular courtyard. "We don't know what kind of plant that is. Maybe even its leaves are poisoned." 

"Aaah, we just burn it down," Asuka grinned. "This will be fun."

It was indeed a plant, a giant blossom with bright red petals that were hanging loosely to its sides. It was growing right in the middle of the ruin's spring, which they found out to be in this courtyard. 

Shinji wandered around the basin. "I wonder who put up these four strange mechanisms," he said. "And what they are for..."

"Aw, never mind that now," Asuka replied. "I've got some weeding to do..." She raised her gun and fired at the plant. 

The whole blossom suddenly shook around, and a strange yell could be heard from inside. Asuka gulped. "This is bad, isn't it?" she asked her two companions." 

"Probably," Samus replied while aiming her weapon at the plant. 

And from the middle of the blossom, a giant, almost insect-like head was rising, looking like the botanical version of a caterpillar. A very UGLY caterpillar. Leaves were growing from its head and shoulders, and its two thin arms were tipped with long, curved blades. 

The monster roared and hacked at Asuka. The half-german girl yelped and jumped sidewards. 

"You got your challenge," Shinji shouted while pulling out his gun. "Satisfied now?" 

"I withdraw my statement," Asuka shouted. 

Meanwhile, Samus had finished scanning the creature. "Flaahgra," the suit's computer voice told her. "This mutant plant is the source of toxic water in the ruins. Flaahgra's growth cycle has been radically accelerated. As a result, it requires near-constant exposure to solar energy to remain active. This exposure has make Flaahgra's outer shell thick and durable. Concentrated weapon fire can daze it for short periods, but its lower root system is unprotected and vulnerable, however. Exploit this flaw when possible." 

"Great," Shinji shouted and barely avoided a blast of concentrated toxins the plant monster was firing at him. "What a pity that those tentacles are in the way." 

He was right... when Flaahgra's upper body had emerged from it's blossom, four thick, thorny tentacles had emerged all around its base, protecting its root system. 

Samus took a quick look around. "These devices... they must stand here for a reason..." Suddenly, she realized that one of the strange devices had tipped over and was now reflecting the sunlight towards the plant. "They're mirrors," she realized. "And the sunlight is giving the beast its strength." 

"The Poisonous One is searching the sun..." Shinji said. "Okay, I got it! Tilt the mirrors so they don't give Flaahgra a tanning... ASUKA, WATCH OUT!" 

"Whaaaah," the red-head screamed as Flaahgra scooped her up with his pincers and pulled her off the ground. "It's gonna eat me. HELP!" 

Samus wasted no time. She jumped sidewards so she wouldn't hit Asuka and fired a rapid barrage of shots at the monster's head. As one of the bright Power Beams hit its eye, the plant screamed in pain and dropped Asuka, who almost fell into the poisoned spring. 

She snarled. "All right, no plant is gonna try to eat me and is getting away with it. As I said, time to do some weeding!" And she blasted the plant's head again and again and again... 

"Keep it busy," shouted Shinji who was busy tilting the mirror. "Damn, this thing is heavy..." 

"Step aside," shouted Samus. The bounty hunter fired at the underside of the mirror, thereby tilting it upwards. As the device locked into place, it ceased providing the plant with sunlight. Flaahgra's upper body reared up and collapsed. Also, the tentacles around its base retracted themselves. 

'Now's my chance,' Samus thought and rolled up into a ball. In Morph Ball mode, she rolled near Flaahgra's root system and placed a single bomb. After quickly rolling away, the bomb burst and set the monster's roots on fire. 

Flaahgra roared in pain, as it's upper body shrank down and retreated into the blossom. 

Asuka yelled: "Whoo-hoo! We got it!" 

"Not quite," Shinji said. "Take a look at that..." 

They all groaned as this time, two of the mirrors tilted forward and once again shone down their light on the plant's body. Strengthened by the sunlight, Flahhgra emerged once again and growled at its opponents. 

"I have the feeling this is gonna be a looong day," Asuka muttered. 

* * *

Finally, after setting bombs at her root system for a total of four times, the monstrous plant was defeated. The centipede-like body once again retreated into the blossom, but this time, stayed there for good. The giant plant was still in the middle of the spring, but after its death, couldn't produce any more poison. Fresh, clean spring water sprayed into the air as the poison got flushed away. 

"Whew," Asuka exclaimed. "That was a toughie! I can't believe that overgrown dandelion was going to eat me..." 

"Well, you know," Shinji snickered. "Plants need their nutrients."

"Ha-ha, very funny, Baka-Shinji! Next time a big monster has an appetite for space scouts, we'll offer YOU as the main course." 

"Take a look at this," Samus shouted. "According to this lore, the Chozo have predicted the arrival of a person that is going to save their planet and have hidden various artifacts and other items all around the planet to aid him... And only he would be able to find them." 

"Well, that's good to hear," Asuka replied. "But that doesn't help us if we don't know where we could find those things." 

"Or if they even are intended for us," Samus agreed. "But we... Shinji, what's the matter?" 

"I just thought I saw something shiny between that plant's roots," he murmured. "Lemme take a look..." 

"Be careful," Samus shouted. "You don't know if there is still some poison in Flaahgra's system." 

"Yeah, I'll be careful," Shinji replied as he waded through the water. Carefully, he pulled apart some of the plant's roots and pulled out the shiny object. 

He held it up. "What's this?" 

Samus gasped as she realized the round symbol resembling an 'S'. 

"A new Power Suit?" she whispered. "Here? Why? How?" 

Shinji looked at the small device in his hand. "Doesn't look like a suit to me," he finally said. "Are you sure that..." 

Suddenly, the small object began shining in a bright light. It hovered over the stunned Shinji's chest area, and the sparks of light seemed to cover his entire body. 

When it was finished, Shinji's body was covered in a suit similar to Samus' Power Suit, only with a slightly different design. He raised the cannon attached to his arm. "Wow..." 

"I can't believe it," Asuka gasped. "Shinji, you almost look like a male Samus in that thing." 

"I wonder..." Samus murmured. "Did the Chozo predict our arrival... or was it meant for me?" She looked down at her own Power Suit. "On the other hand, I already HAVE a Power Suit..."

Shinji grinned as he jumped over the basin and gave off some experimental shots up into the air. "Cool..." 

Suddenly, he heard a beeping in his helmet. "Hey, what's that?" he shouted. 

Samus, who heard the beeping as well, explained: "The suit is informing you about anomalies it detected. Here, press this button..." 

She gestured towards a button at the side of the helmet. Shinji imitated her, and suddenly, a male computer voice was heard, copying the female computer voice from Samus' suit. 

"Chozo technology detected. Surrounded by an electrical field. Power-up of suit is recommended." 

"What does that mean?" Shinji asked. 

"Your suit analyzed the situation we're in and told you what it believes to be most efficient for now. And it's right, your suit is still only provided with the basic tools... I already scanned you. That means, apart from the Power Beam and Scan Visor, you can only use the Morph Ball, the bombs, the missiles and the Charge Beam. Also, your suit seems to be the 'Varia Suit' version, that means you're probably protected against extreme temperatures." 

"Not bad for the beginning," Shinji said. "Well, I guess we should do what the computer suggested and power up this baby... I bet it'll come in handy when we're battling those pirates..." He grinned. 

"But where is this power-up?" Asuka wanted to know, a little upset that she was the only one without such a cool equipment. 

"The computer told me that it is situated in a place called Magmoor," Shinji said. "According to the data we downloaded from the map station earlier, there should be an elevator leading there nearby."

"Magmoor... according to the name, I'd bet it's a very HOT place," Samus said. 

"Could you please explain what you mean by 'hot'?" Asuka asked. "You mean like 'hot springs' or something?" 

Samus smirked. "No, I mean 'hot' like 'incredibly hot lava'. That kind of hot." 

"Lava?" Asuka asked in a disbelieving voice. "Why would you guess that there is lava down there?" 

"I'm an experienced bounty hunter," Samus explained. "And I was on several planets like this... and believe me, there is almost EVERY time some area where there's hot lava. On Zebes, for instance, the area called 'Norfair' was a complex of caves, filled with lava and fire monsters. I'd say it's something similar here..." 

"Why do I have the feeling that lava isn't the worst that's waiting for us?" Asuka moaned. "All right, let's get it over with..." 

* * *

The being looked through the glass tube of its containment with red eyes. The world outside was so strange... those creatures walking past her tank... they seem to be the ones that provide her with nutrients and oxygen. Are those her parental units, perhaps? Or are they just servants of something bigger? 

The being never knew anything else than the comfortable floating inside the liquid of her test tube. She had never expected that someday, she would have to leave the tube and face the cruel world out there. 

And this day was today. 

The liquid got drained out of the tube, and the cables and the flexible tubes got removed from her body. The tubular wall of the container rose upwards. Gentle arms caught her as she fell forward. Someone wrapped her into a warm blanket and carried her to a chair. 

"Easy there, girl," someone said in a soothing voice. "It's your first time outside that tube. You will have to get used to that feeling, standing on your own two legs... but I'm sure you'll do fine. You're strong. I must know, I created you." 

The girl looked up at the gentle face of the blonde woman. "Who... are you? And who... am I?" 

The woman with the lab coat smiled. "I am Dr. Ritsuko Akagi... call me Ritsuko... and you could call me the one who gave you life. You are, well, a clone. That normally means a copy of an already existing being. But don't worry: You are something special, not just a copy."

Some of the strange creatures walked up to them. They said something in a snarling language, but some device on their chests translated it into human language: "Hurry up, human! The commander wants his new weapon to be ready as soon as possible." 

"She can't fight right after coming out of her tube," Ritsuko snapped. "She needs some time. Even clones need to learn everything." 

"Then make sure she learns fast," the pirate hissed. "We spared your life until now because of your abilities... but we can change our mind anytime. So hurry up and do your work!" 

Ritsuko gritted her teeth. "Yes..." she finally said. 

Suddenly, a monitor on the wall activated, and the face of a human boy looked down at them. But Ritsuko wasn't fooled... she knew that under this harmless mask, a cruel being was hiding. "Ah, doctor," he smiled. "Good to see project 'EVA' finally was a success... and I hope for yourself that I'm not wrong. Well, I'm not too worried... after all, the last three Units were stronger than your first attempts. Please, tell me... When do you believe will Unit 00 be ready for her first mission?" 

"Don't call her 'Unit 00', Ridley," Ritsuko said in a dark voice. "Unlike the other clones, she has a personality. And remember her name well, because she will only listen to it, if your soldiers give her orders." 

"Very well," the alien in human disguise smirked. "And what should we call her?" 

"Rei."

"Rei?"

"Yes." Ritsuko nodded. "R.E.I. Red-Eyed Incarnation... that's her name." 

"Interesting," Ridley commented. "Incarnation of what?" 

Ritsuko gave the pale-skinned girl in her arms a smile. 

"Of purity." 


	4. Rock Contamination

The elevator stopped

The elevator stopped. Shinji and Asuka were dizzy. "Whoa, this thing sure is fast," Shinji said. "Why didn't they build in some seat belts?" 

"Oh, you'll get used to it," Samus shrugged. "Those inter-planetary transportation systems are all the same... No big deal." 

She opened the door, and they stepped out into the corridor. The walls still looked like those of the ruins, but somewhere up ahead, they could see a red gleaming, as if someone had started a big fire. Asuka was fanning herself with her hands. "Man, is it just me, or is it getting hotter by the second?" 

"It's not just you," Samus answered. "Further ahead are the caves of Magmoor... When we're next to the lava, it will be even hotter than now." 

"I don't believe it," Asuka panted. "Do you have built-in air conditioning in those things?" 

"They're just isolated against the heat," Samus explained. "I think we have a problem... Asuka probably won't be able to stand the heat."

"Yeah, I think so as well," Shinji nodded. "What should we do?"

"Oh... never mind me..." Asuka gasped and slid down the wall. "I think I'll just pass out for a while..." 

"We should go back," Shinji said. "It's too dangerous for her."

"I agree," Samus replied. "But we probably should split up. You need to complete your Power Suit, and someone should stay with Asuka... she has the least effective weaponry." 

"Oh sure, treat me as I'm the weak one," Asuka grumbled. "I think I'm a better fighter then Baka-Shinji here..." 

"Asuka, think about it: If you pass out now, what would you tell everyone at home?" Shinji grinned. "That 'Baka-Shinji' could stand the heat better than you?" 

That was enough. 

Asuka stood up, huffed and walked back the way they came. "You think you're sooo special, Shinji Ikari, but finding some high-tech suit doesn't mean you're a super hero." 

Shinji grinned at Samus. "Don't worry, she'll calm down. She just can't stand it if someone attacks her pride." 

"I think I understand," Samus said. "Don't worry, we'll be fine. Go and find your upgrade, and come back as fast as you can, okay?" 

"Got it!" And with a quick nod, the armored boy went down the corridor, towards the red gleaming. 

Samus caught up to the red-haired space scout at the entrance to the elevator, where it was a little cooler. 

"That Shinji..." Asuka grumbled. "I tell you Samus, boys can be such jerks sometimes." 

Samus shrugged. She didn't have too much contact to other people, so she wouldn't know. 

"I think we should go up again," Asuka sighed. "I think Baka-Shinji will be smart enough to follow us..." 

She opened the door and walked in. 

And that's when suddenly, a dark shape dropped down from the ceiling and grabbed her neck. 

"Hey," Asuka shouted in anger. "What's the big ideaaaaaa..." She gritted her teeth as a sharp blade was being pressed against her skin. 

"One false move and Mekki-Maru will send your soul directly to hell," the woman snarled. 

Samus aimed for the ninja's back. "Let her go, or else..." 

Taki turned her head. "Or else what? You might shoot me down, but you won't be able to hit me without risking your friend's life. Where is your other companion?" 

Samus thought about playing dumb, but that woman probably wouldn't be fooled that easily. "He went down into the lava caves," she grumbled. "He was searching for something. What do you want from us?" 

The kunoichi grinned and turned around, all the time pressing her blade against Asuka's neck. "Well, let's say that someone doesn't want him... or you, for that matter... to interfere." 

"Did the pirates send you?" Samus asked, although that normally wasn't the way the pirates plotted. 

"Please," the female ninja said. "I have nothing to do with those abominable creatures... but enough talking! Your little friend and I are going on a little journey... isn't that right, sweetie?" 

Slowly, she pulled Asuka backwards, onto the elevator's platform. 

"Samus," Asuka said through gritted teeth. "I don't want to intrude, but I think you should do something, fast..." 

And Samus started thinking. Quickly, she checked her weaponry. Were all beams functional? Good. 

And in a fluid motion, she switched her weapon mode and fired a precisely aimed shot at Taki's right arm. 

"What the...?" The ninja instantly wanted to stab Asuka's neck with her blade, but when Samus' shot hit her, her right arm and shoulder got frozen in a thick coating of ice. 

"AAAARRRGGGHHHH! You dirty little cheater..." she snarled as Asuka slipped out of her grasp. 

"Take that, you bastard," shouted Asuka and drew her weapon. 

But before she could shoot, Taki quickly activated the elevator, which carried her upwards. 

When the assassin had vanished, Asuka angrily put her gun back. "Dang! She got away!" 

Samus switched back from Ice Beam to her normal Power Beam. "If someone besides the Space Pirates wants to see us dead, we should be extra careful in the future..." 

Asuka sat down on the ground. The feeling of the sword at her neck still sent shudders down her back. "I think we should wait here for Shinji..." 

* * *

"Damn this woman," Taki grumbled while slowly defrosting. "This shouldn't have happened. Now they know me, and they'll be careful. Aw, whatever... this is gonna make my job more fun..." 

She looked around. "Now which way did I come from?" She chose to go right. 

She entered a circular room, which was more like the bottom of a vertical shaft. Taki looked up. "How am I supposed to go up there?" she murmured. 

Suddenly, four little shapes came jumping down the shaft, bouncing off the walls. 

One after another, four little green creatures were landing in front of her. 

"Hello!" "Hello!" "Hello!" "Mfffmmhh!" 

Taki blinked. "Who are you?" 

The furry little guys looked nearly identical, only one of them was slightly bigger... and fatter. They looked like little green imps, with antennas jutting out of their heads. 

"We're the Singing Etecoon Quartet," the one wearing a purple bobble hat said. The one wearing a green cap nodded. "Yes. And we see that you're stuck here. So we came to teach you about..." 

And together, three of the Etecoons shouted: 

"The WALL JUMP!" 

The third one, wearing a jacket with a tight-fitting hood, mumbled something unintelligible. 

"You're right, Kenny! Now, we are going to teach this VERY important move to you in form of a song... Cartman, show her your groove!" 

And the fat Etecoon began dancing and singing: 

"Do the Wall Jump! Swing your arms from side to side. Come on, it's time to go. Do the Wall Jump! Take one step, and then again. Let's do the Wall Jump, all together now! You got it! It's the Wall Jump! Do the Wall Jump! Swing your arms from side to side. Come on, it's time to go. Do the Wall Jump! Take one step, and then again. Let's do the Wall Jump, all together now! Come on now. Just like that!" 

Taki stared. 

"Well, that certainly was helpful," the one with the bobble hat nodded.

"Shut up, Stan," Cartman grumbled. "I only did it because it was cool, not because I wanted to help her." 

"We always have to help others in need, Cartman," Kyle said. "It's what our mothers taught us." 

"Only that your mother is a bitch, Kyle," Cartman shot back. 

"Oh yeah?" Kyle got angry. "And your mother is a slut." 

"Hey guys, stop the bickering," Stan said. 

"Mmmmffllllhhmmmm," Kenny mumbled. 

"Hey, if someone is a slut, it's that woman over there!" Cartman said.

Taki's eye twitched. "Excuse me?" 

"Yeah, I mean, come on! She has boobs nearly as big as the Mount Everest! And always wearing that tight suit... it just SCREAMS 'slut'. And look how her..." 

Taki heard enough. 

SPLUT!

One thrust of her beloved Mekki-Maru, and the fat one was silent. 

The other three stared. 

"Oh my god!" Stan yelled. "She killed Cartman!" 

"You bastard!" Kyle added. 

Kenny mumbled something. 

"That's right, run away!" 

And using their infamous Wall Jump, the three Etecoons jumped up the shaft, leaving Taki and their dead friend behind. 

"I hate Etecoons," mumbled Taki. 

* * *

"Well, I'm really glad this suit protects me from the heat," Shinji said to himself. "When I look at all this lava, I'm very glad about it." 

There was lava down in the caves of Magmoor. LOTS of lava. Rivers of lava, pools of lava... and what surprised him the most was the fact that the Space Pirates seem to use this lava as their source of energy. 

He found a small tower rising from the bubbling heat, and found out that it was a security station of the pirates. Luckily, no pirate was at his post at the moment. Only some defense turrets were defending it, which he quickly blasted with his missiles. His new Scan Visor allowed him to scan their computers, thereby finding out that they use the planet's heat to gain more energy. Shinji had to admit... they may be vicious monsters, but very clever ones. 

He also was very surprised when he found out that there were actually several life forms LIVING down here in these caves. He especially remembered the Puffers, strange floating creatures that were filled with poisonous gas. Or the Magmoors, who gave the caverns their name. Enormous snake creatures, they swum through the lava and attacked with their hot fire breath. 

But up to now, Shinji was proud that he made it this far. Guided by the suit's navigation system, he slowly approached the cave where his new upgrade should be hidden. 

* * *

The blue-haired girl fell down on the floor again. 

"Stand back up," came the hissing voice of her sparring partner, out of the translation box. "Your enemy won't give you the time to gather yourself. If this were a real battle, you'd be dead by now."

Rei growled and launched herself back at the pirate captain. 

"Very vicious, indeed," he growled as he parried Rei's plasma blades with his own. "But way too rash... you have to keep an eye on your vicinity and especially on your enemy... or you'll end up like THIS!" 

He slammed the cloned girl down on the floor, his blade stopping just inches from her neck. 

He pulled the blade back. "10 minute break. After that, we continue. And you better pay more attention this time." 

Rei panted heavily and stood up. She walked over to the doctor and fell down into the chair. 

"Don't strain yourself, Rei," Ritsuko said while giving her something to drink. "He's right: If you continue like this, you'll be defeated easily." 

"Dr. Akagi, why am I being used as an assassin?" Rei asked. 

Surprised by that question, Ritsuko didn't answer immediately. "They want to use you as a special weapon against one of their enemies. They also want to make use of your extraordinary genes." 

"I know I am strong," Rei panted. "So why can't I defeat him?"

"Rei, power isn't everything. You must think while fighting. You see, it's like using a computer... you may be intelligent enough to use it... but that doesn't help you if you don't know how to switch it on."

'What a horrible comparison,' Ritsuko thought. 'But I guess she got the idea...' 

"And after I defeated this enemy... what will they do with me afterwards?"

"I can't really say," Ritsuko admitted. "But I'm sure they want to use you as a special weapon against formidable enemies."

Rei stared at the ground. "Is this... the whole purpose of my existence...? Being a weapon...?" 

A sharp screech turned her attention back to her trainer. "The 10 minutes are over, so stop slacking off and show me some real fighting, got it?" 

Rei nodded, activated her plasma blades and went back to her training. 

* * *

"Damn those Etecoons," Taki mumbled. "I should have killed the one with the hood as well, his mumbling was SO irritating." 

She made her way back to the cave where she had put up her camp... A cave where no one would easily find her... in the ice region of Phendrana.

It was cold, yes, but Taki only needed the darkness burning in her Mekki-Maru to warm her up. 

No one should be able to follow her here. The cave was atop a steep cliff that was unclimbable for normal humans... but not for a skilled ninja. 

Therefore she was very surprised when she entered the cave and found someone already sitting there. It was a young human boy with white hair, wearing casual clothes. 

"Who are you?" she demanded to know while drawing her weapons. 

"Don't worry," the boy smiled. "I'm no enemy. In fact, I'm here to offer you a deal you just can't turn down." 

"I don't make deals with little boys," she snapped. "Go home to mommy!" 

He stood up. "Please, Taki... do you really think a normal boy would be able to climb up here? I was watching you for a while now, and while I don't know who you're working for, I admire your skills. To bad your victims got away..." 

Taki looked carefully at the boy. Now that she observed him closely, she could see that his aura wasn't quite that of a human being. 

"I don't make deals with strangers," she finally said. "Tell me your name and I'll consider it." 

"Very well," he grinned. "My name is Ridley... but in this form, you can call me Kaworu." 

"Ridley?" she asked. "The commander of the Space Pirates?" While she only came to this world several hours ago, she was informed about the most important beings it had to offer. And Ridley was downright infamous for his brutal assaults on human colonies. 

"The one and only," Kaworu smiled. "I saw the problems you had with the bounty hunter, and I have to say, I sympathize... I know her well, and I know she can be a real pain in the neck." 

"So what is your suggestion?" Taki asked, finally putting away her blades. 

"Well, my dear ninja, my pirates may be strong warriors..." 

Taki huffed. 

"...but their main strength lies in their number. And while we have many soldiers on Tallon IV, I can't just send them all out to capture or kill my enemy. And the planet is big... finding a single person is difficult. And when I saw you for the first time, I was impressed with your ability to track down your prey that quickly." 

"So you want me to find them, huh?" Taki said. "And what then?"

"Well, I know you want to see the hunter dead, just like me... and I won't ask you for your reasons. When you tracked them down, we will send our best warriors to dispose of them... as soon as the right time has come. Until then, you have to follow them without being detected."

"What do you mean, 'the right time'?" 

"Well..." Kaworu stretched his arms. "Let's just say I have a special weapon that is just perfect for our enemy, and it needs some... preparation." 

"And what about her little friends?" 

"They're of no importance to me," he shrugged. "They're kids. The boy might have found another Chozo suit, but he really hasn't the training the hunter went under. You can kill them, if you like."

Taki grinned. "That's always a plus..." She could already feel the power of their souls being sacrificed for her master... "All right, I'm in! How do I contact you?" 

Kaworu gave him a device. "Here, a standard pirate communicator. Most of my men know about you. Just tell them the codeword 'Prime' and they'll contact me." 

He looked around. "Well, gotta go! And... happy hunting!" 

He went outside onto the small ledge in front of the cave, spread his arms, and with a yell that turned into a monstrous screech, transformed back into his normal form. Spreading his wings, he took off and flew away, his body casting a sinister shadow on the snowy plains underneath. 

Taki watched as he left and then, jumped down the cliff. She had some prey to stalk... 

After both of them left, a small shape looked up from behind a boulder. The penguin took a look around, waddled out of his hiding place and took a good grip on his MG. 

"Wark!"

The conversation he was listening to was interesting indeed. He had to tell Misato about this... 

* * *

"That was a great idea, coming here into this frozen wasteland," Kaji said, wrapping himself in his warm coat. "Why didn't we go to the ruins instead? They would've been much warmer." 

"Because there are temples here as well," Misato pointed out. "And I tend to believe that whatever is hidden in there, must be much more valuable then anything hidden in the regular ruins." 

Kaji took a few breaths and looked down the steep cliff. "Well, if it only were the cold... but did we have to go mountain climbing?" 

"Stop your whining," Misato snapped, hacking another iron spur inside the cliff. "I'm sure there is some big building up there, and if it isn't the temple, I'll eat my hat." 

"You don't wear a hat," Kaji pointed out. 

"Then I'll buy one! Shut up!" 

They continued climbed for several minutes, not saying anything. Then, Misato sighed. "I wonder if Pen Pen is all right... he's gone for almost an hour by now." 

"Hey, he'll be fine," Kaji assured her. "That penguin is a tough guy, he can take care of himself." 

"But it has been sooo long since he had his last beer," Misato said. "He must be very miserable." 

Before Kaji answered, his head rose over a rocky ledge. "Hey," he shouted. "I think we made it! We're at the top." 

"Well, then move your butt so I can come up as well," Misato shouted from below. 

And several moments later, they were sitting on a snowy ledge, both of them trying to catch their breath. 

Kaji looked around. "Doesn't look like a temple to me," he murmured. "More like some sort of backyard..." 

They were in a small crater on top of the mountain, surrounded by ledges that were sticking out of the wall. There was nothing there, except for snow and a big pile of rocks lying around in the middle. 

"What a washdown," Misato angrily said. "That really was a waste of time. Well, as long as we're here, we might as well make the best of it..." She carefully slid down the edge of the stone platform they were sitting on and let herself fall down into the snow. 

"Hey, what are you doing?" Kaji shouted. 

"I'll just check if those rocks have some rare minerals inside." 

Kaji sighed and dropped down the ledge as well. When he slowly followed his partner, she was already inspecting one of the rocks she picked up. 

"Well?"

She frowned. "Just normal rocks, as far as I'm concerned, but there is a strange coloration in this crack... that doesn't make sense..."

Suddenly, something moved behind them. Misato turned around. 

Nothing but the rocks. 

"This is weird," she mumbled. "I guess I'm starting to have hallucinations." 

She aimed her concentration back on the rock she was holding. 

Only that she wasn't holding it anymore. It was floating in the air. 

"What the..." 

"Misato, behind you!" Kaji shouted. 

Surprised, the female treasure hunter stumbled towards Kaji, turning around. 

The rocks have all risen into the air and were just starting to merge to form a big figure... When they were finished, it looked like a giant made of rocks. 

"This is impossible," Misato stuttered. "Rocks are rocks. How can they move on their own?" 

The rocky giant named Thardus let out a roar that sounded like an avalanche of pebbles. Somewhere deep inside him, a spark of intelligence has formed under the influence of the Phazon he was infected with. And while he really didn't know himself since when he gained a conscience, or how he was able to move around like this, he knew there were two intruders in his habitat... and he wanted them dead. 

"Be careful," Misato shouted as a shower of small pebbles came raining upon them. Kaji snarled and raised his rifle. He fired several shots, but they hit the rocky surface without doing any damage. 

"That's not going to work," he said. "It's like trying to destroy a rock with a gun." 

"You ARE trying to destroy a rock with a gun," Misato reminded him. "And I think you should use your head some more..." She pulled out a small grenade, pulled the plug and threw it towards Thardus. 

The rock creature caught the little object, unsure what it could be. And when it exploded, he gave off a groan of pain. Several deep cracks appeared in the surface of his 'hand', and underneath, a blue shimmering substance was revealed. 

"What's that stuff?" Kaji shouted. 

"Dunno," Misato replied while giving off some shots with her gun. "But I'm pretty sure that's what's causing the stone to move." 

Thardus got angry. He raised his arms. Blue flashes of energy danced around his 'hands', as he used his powers to summon a small snowstorm. 

"How does he do that?" Misato wondered. She grimaced as the cold breeze hit her face. Damn, that was cold. "Kaji? Kaji, where are you?" 

She looked around. The damn snowstorm was that thick that she couldn't find a trace of her partner. Suddenly, she saw a dark shape coming towards her. "Kaji, don't scare me like that! We have to stay together..." 

She screamed as she realized that it wasn't Kaji, but one of Thardus' rocky appendages. She gasped as the rocky 'fingers' pressed her body together hardly, and raised her off the ground. 

When the snowstorm calmed down a little, Kaji saw the giant picking his partner off the ground. 

"MISATO!" Angrily, he fired his plasma rifle, but to no avail. "Damn, and she has all of the grenades." 

"WAAAARK!"

When hearing the familiar battle cry of the penguin, Kaji felt a little relief. "About time, you stupid bird! Misato's in danger, we have to help her." 

Pen Pen glared at Kaji but nodded. He raised his MG and stormed at the rock giant with a loud squawk of anger. He threw another grenade and blasted the outer shell of Thardus' leg structure. Afterwards, he fired his gun. 

BLAMBLAMBLAMBLAMBLAM!

Thardus' legs started to give way, and he started to lose his grip on Misato. 

The violet-haired treasure hunter snarled as she pulled out another grenade. "Eat THIS, you big pile of rubble!" she yelled and stuck it in-between two of his shards, right underneath his 'chin'. Afterwards, she slipped out of his grasp and jumped to the ground. 

With a big blast, Thardus' head got ripped off. 

Misato smirked and turned around to Kaji. "See, no problem at all!"

"LOOK OUT!" Kaji screamed. Misato turned around. 

Thardus groaned and collapsed, his rocks falling all over Misato. 

Pen Pen made a panicked squawk. 

"MISATO!" Kaji came running and started throwing away the boulders from where they lay. "Please, please, be all right..." he murmured. 

Pen Pen helped him as best as he could, and soon, they managed to free the unconscious woman. 

Kaji gasped when he took a look at her right arm. "What the heck is THAT?" 

Misato's arm was coated in the same strange blue substance that had contaminated the rocks. It gave off an eery glow. But that was not all... on several parts of the arm, chunks of the monster's rocks had been FUSED to her skin... that's what it looked like, at least. And Kaji could swear that he could watch the stone coating that was on Misato's skin SPREADING! 

"Oh god," he murmured. "What should I do now?" 


	5. Who is she a clone of?

"This is cool," Shinji grinned after shooting at yet another Pulse Bombu with his new Wave Beam. The wavelike, purple beams were like trails of electricity that blasted the floating creature apart.

"Good to see you have fun," groaned Asuka after sneezing. "But I have the feeling something else is pretty 'cool' as well... What are you planning to do to me, anyways? First you want to cook me, now you want to freeze me."

Samus looked around the frozen landscape of Phendrana. "Well, your suit should protect you from most of the cold... although, it probably isn't as shielded against it as our Power Suits are."

Again, Asuka sneezed. "Why are we here anyway?"

After Shinji found the Wave Beam upgrade, he immediately had returned to his two female companions. On their way back through the ruins, Samus found some glyphs showing some ancient Chozo temple in the middle of the frozen wasteland. Perhaps there she would find some answers.

"You know it, Asuka," Samus responded. "I'd like to find out more about why the Chozo are gone. I doubt it was just because of the poisoned water in the ruins. After all, there is enough water in other places. So why didn't they just build another place for themselves?"

"Good question," nodded Shinji. "Perhaps there's more about this plague than we thought..."

"Hey, there's someone coming," Asuka suddenly said. "Looks like Kaji..."

"Kaji here, in this frozen Tundra?" Samus wondered. "I wonder what he's doing here... and where Misato and her little pet are."

Kaji had already seen them, and he shouted: "Quick! Hurry, you must come with me! It's Misato..."

"Hey, calm down there," Asuka said. "What's the matter? What's wrong with Misato?"

"I don't know, it's hard to describe, but... I need your help! Pen Pen is watching her, but I can't carry her alone. It took me ages to find a way down here without having to climb that cliff. Come on, hurry!"

"Okay," Samus decided. "If it's that serious, we should come along first and ask questions later. Lead the way, Kaji!"

"All right, follow me!"

* * *

Meanwhile, Pen Pen had built a small tent in which Misato now was lying. The strange stone layer on her skin had spread over her chest, the back of her head and part of her left arm. For some reason, the strange infestation had stopped when reaching her hair and face and grew 'around' it.

"Wow," Asuka mumbled. "Now that's... weird."

"Do you know what happened to her?" Kaji asked desperately. "What's going on?"

Samus had finished scanning Misato. "Strange... that blue stuff is the same substance we saw aboard the pirate's frigate... Perhaps it's some sort of mutagen, it also mutated that Parasite Queen... But I never heard of a mutagen that was able to mutate rocks."

"Will she die?" Kaji asked. Samus shook her head.

"No, whatever caused this doesn't affect her health... it just corrupts her skin, grafting this weird stone structure to it. Otherwise, she's perfectly healthy... Although she gives of a very slight radiation... that could be the result of that substance, which now flows through her veins."

"Is there any way we can stop it?" Shinji wanted to know.

"I don't think so," Samus answered. "We just don't know anything about that stuff... but the Space Pirates must know more. They were experimenting with it, after all."

"Perhaps that rock creature was one of their experiments as well," Asuka assumed.

"Might be," Samus nodded. "I wouldn't be surprised if some base or outpost is nearby... if that's the case we should hurry and take a look. Perhaps I can find a solution in one of their computers."

"Wark, wark!"

"What's he saying?" Shinji asked.

Kaji scratched his head. "I'm not too sure. Misato taught me a little penguinish, but not much. I think he saw something when he was exploring the mountains..."

"Is that true, Pen Pen?" Asuka asked. "Did you see something that somehow looked like a pirate's base?"

Even if that wasn't what the penguin wanted to tell them, he nodded.

"Wark!" His flipper pointed east.

Samus stood up. "All right, we should split up. Someone should stay behind and protect Misato."

Suddenly, Misato groaned. "Oooooh," she moaned. "What hit me?"

"Misato!" Kaji shouted. "You're awake! How do you feel?"

"Terrible," she groaned and sat up. "I need a beer..." She reached for the bag lying next to her, when she suddenly saw her gray arm. "Whoa..." Startled, she pulled the arm back, blinked, and examined it.

"Well... that certainly is different," she finally mumbled.

* * *

Taki was hurrying through the caves. Using the tunnel she had discovered recently, she had been able to reach the snowy plains of Phendrana much faster as if she had travelled on the surface.

She overheard her three victims saying that they were going to search for some temple there... but she would cut them down before they have the chance to even see it from the outside.

After a while, she reached a junction.

"Which way was it again?" she murmured, quickly looking from one tunnel to the other.

"Hey, are you lost, lady?"

Taki turned around. Behind her were two big, ostrich-like birds, even if they were only half as big as an ostrich.

But they looked kinda weird. One of them had grey feathers, and on its head, two extremely long feathers were sticking in the air, resembling long ears.

The other one had black feathers, and its beak looked more like the bill of a duck.

The grey one raised a carrot to his beak and nibbled on it. "Eh, what's up, doc? Never seen a Dachora before?"

"You're Dachoras?" Taki wondered. "I thought they had green feathers..."

"Aw, we're not that kind of Dachora," said the black one with a lisp. "Those silly guys can't even speak. No, ma'am, we're something special."

"I hate to agree with him, but he's right," the other one said. "We just came over to see if you were interested in hearing about the 'Shinespark'."

Taki's eye twitched.

"That's right," the black one added. "It's easy: Just run along a looong, looong corridor like this one, and when you reach maximum speed, crouch down to store power. If you jump straight upwards after that, it will take you uuuuup, up and away. Sounds cool, huh?"

"I know only one thing," Taki said through gritted teeth. "I never want to see any goddamn critter on this cursed planet EVER AGAIN!"

She drew her swords.

"Now, just wait for a second there," the grey Dachora said. "You don't want to make a mistake, do you? Because it's black Dachora season!" And he pointed Taki's blades towards the black Dachora.

"No, no, no, you got it all wrong. Because it's clearly GREY Dachora season!" And he pushed the blades over to the grey one.

And so it continued:

"Black Dachora season!"

"Grey Dachora season!"

"Black Dachora season!"

"Grey Dachora season!"

Suddenly, Taki let out a snarl. "I don't care! I JUST DON'T CARE ANYMORE! I'LL KILL YOU BOTH!"

The black bird gulped and looked at his grey companion. "She looks kinda cranky, doesn't she?"

"Seems so," the grey one nodded. "Perhaps it's 'that time of the month'."

"Oh dear... so what should we do?"

"Eeeeh... scream like little kids and run away?"

"Good idea!"

"WHAAAAAAAAAHH!"

And the two birds ran away at high speed. Taki ran after them, swinging her swords. "Hey! Hold still so I can kill you!!"

But the Dachoras were way too fast. And when they reached a vertical shaft, they crouched down, stored power and jumped straight upwards.

Taki stopped. "Damn," she cursed. "They got away..."

At the upper end of the shaft, the helmet-wearing Dachora looked up at his black companion, who resembled a flat pancake hanging from the ceiling.

"I told you: Always wear a helmet!"

"You're despicable," the black bird grumbled.

* * *

"There it is," Shinji whispered. "The entrance of their base."

They were all hiding behind some boulders while looking at the big building that looked a little less futuristic than most of them had anticipated.

"Are you sure you're all right, Misato?" Kaji asked in a concerned voice.

Misato grinned. "Hey, everything's fine. If I didn't know this strange rock-coating was on my arms, I wouldn't even feel it. Besides, I'm can't wait to find out just what the heck happened to me... and I'd like to pound it out of some pirate's stupid brain." She smacked her stone fists together.

"All right, how are we going to do this?" Asuka asked. "Should we try to sneak in and surprise them or should we wait until one of them comes out and take him prisoner...?"

Pen Pen took the decision in his own hands... er, fins.

"WAAAAARK!"

Asuka shrugged. "I guess we can just storm the entrance and take down as many pirates as we can."

"Works for me," Samus grinned. She raised her gun arm. "Follow the penguin!"

* * *

Taki finally had caught up with the little group. When she realized that they were heading for the pirate laboratory, she pondered if she should warn the pirates. After a while, she shrugged and pulled out the communication device.

After a while a gruff pirate voice (once again translated from growling and snarling) answered: "Phendrana Research Lab here."

"This is Taki," the kunoichi said. "Code 'Prime'."

"Taki?" the pirate growled. "Oh, that ninja woman, right? What do you want?"

Taki grinned. "Looks like you have some unexpected guests paying you a visit. The hunter and her friends are coming to play."

The pirate cursed. "Okay, stay where you are! Our special weapon needs some time to prepare. I want you to assist it in taking down the hunter. Until then, our troops are gonna keep them busy."

Taki didn't like how the pirate captain ordered her around as if she was one of his troopers, but she replied: "All right! But hurry up!"

* * *

"They're here," one of the pirates told Ritsuko. "Is she ready for her first fight?"

"You trained her yourself," the doctor shot back. "You should know. I just checked her body, and she's in top condition. She just needs her weapons."

"All right," the captain nodded. After switching the translation device off, he growled something towards his men, who saluted and ran into the armory to fetch Rei's weaponry.

Ritsuko went over to Rei. "Are you nervous?" she asked.

The cloned girl sighed. "A little. But I'll be fine. Remember, I managed to beat the captain after only one day."

"And remember: Those humans probably don't deserve to die, but do what you have to do. I have faith in you... you'll make the right decision. And also remember what I taught you: If you fight them, do it with all your strength, but also act honorable towards your opponents. That means they'll treat you with all respect that can be given to an enemy, and the fight will be fair for both sides."

Rei nodded and put on the armor the pirates had given her.

* * *

In the lab's lobby, the fight had already started.

"Take THIS, you stupid pirates," Asuka shouted and shot at them from behind the pillar she used as a cover.

The others did their best as well, but these pirates were good. They didn't take any chances and shot fiercely every time one of their enemies showed his or her face.

Shinji and Samus had a little advantage over the pirates, as they had a bigger arsenal of weapons than the others. Samus just froze one of the troopers with her Ice Beam, and Shinji instantly fired a missile that shattered the frozen pirate into pieces.

Misato had some trouble using her gun with her bulky hands, so she just threw grenades in the rows of her enemies. Pen Pen assisted her by shooting any pirate that dared to come too close.

"I think we can do it," Kaji said excitedly and shot his rifle. "There are only a few left..."

"Don't get too cocky," Samus warned him. "Whoever their leader is, he's good... he's not sending all of his troops out at once... so there could still be some more."

Suddenly, another pirate appeared. He wore a different kind of armor than the normal troopers. It was black and had purple markings on it.

He made a gesture and snarled something, and the other troopers nodded and stepped back. He activated his plasma blades and just stormed forward.

"Leave him to me," Kaji shouted and raised his weapon.

"Kaji, wait..." Misato said, but Kaji had already fired.

And the plasma shots of his rifle bounced off the pirate's armor.

"What the...?" he shouted in surprise, but he got no chance of ending that sentence, as the pirate jumped at him and aimed for his throat.

"Kaji!" Misato screamed. And suddenly, she felt something. Without thinking, she jumped forward and stepped in front of her partner.

And the pirate's blade bounced off the thick coat of stone that had surrounded Misato's whole body... except for her face!

The pirate was that baffled that he didn't attack again... he just stared.

And then an electrical beam from Shinji's gun hit him, and he screamed as the shock paralyzed his body. Shinji fired another Wave Beam, and he went down.

"Good work, Shinji," Samus commented.

Misato looked down at her body. Then she concentrated, and somehow MADE the stone coating retract itself. After a while, it wasn't visible anywhere on her skin. The only thing that remained was a light blue discoloration on her arms.

"It looks like I have the power to control the stone structure on my body," Misato murmured. "I can make it appear or disappear whenever I want to."

"Wow..." Asuka said. "But... you still want to find a cure, right?"

"Of course," Misato replied. "After all, I don't want my treasure hunter colleagues to call me a freak of nature."

"Hey, wait a second," Samus shouted. "Something is happening... the pirates have stopped their attack."

She was right. After the purple warrior went down, the remaining pirates stayed silent as if they were waiting for something.

And then, a door behind them opened. The humans braced themselves for whatever the pirates had in store for them.

A slender, female figure appeared in the door. She wore a human version of the pirate troopers' armor, complete with Galvanic Accelerator Cannons and Plasma Blade generators. Her hair was short and bluish, and her gaze was cold.

And her face... was that of Samus.

Samus lowered her weapon. Asuka stared. "What the heck? Why does that girl look just like Samus? Well, except for the red eyes and the blue hair..."

"She's a clone..." Samus whispered. "A clone... of me. They... must have collected my DNA when I fought them on Zebes."

"Great," Shinji groaned. "That means the Space Pirates have their very own Samus Aran... well, at least she doesn't have a Power Suit like you."

"Let's wait and see what she will do," Kaji suggested. "Maybe she isn't as bad as we think."

The clone raised her cannon. "Enemies of the Space Pirates... die!"

"Well, so much for that theory," Kaji groaned.

"Aw, it's no problem," Asuka said confidently. "She's all by herself, we can take her on, right?"

"No," Samus said suddenly. "Leave her to me..."

"You're gonna fight her alone?" Misato asked surprised.

Samus nodded. "I... I want to see... if I can defeat her. I want to test her... and my... skills."

Rei had listened to her conversation. "You want to fight me alone? Fine by me..."

Samus stood up. "I know you're no Space Pirate, even if you're on their side... so can I take your word that they won't interfere?"

Rei thought about what Ritsuko told her and nodded. "You heard her," she told the remaining troopers. "Go back and report to your captain. When I fail, you can do with them whatever you want."

And even if the pirates weren't under her command, they didn't dare protesting. After all, she had defeated their captain once.

They growled a last time at the other humans and went back into the door Rei came from.

"Same goes for you," Samus told her friends. "Let me finish the fight. Only intervene when you have to..."

Shinji nodded. "You can count on it."

"Go get her!" Asuka added.

Samus stepped forward. Rei glared at her. "So, how do you want to do this? Everyone can use any weapon she likes?"

Samus smirked. "How about we make it... a fencing duel?" She activated a switch on her weapon, and a broad beam came out of it, shining brightly. But it didn't shoot out of her gun like her other beams, it just stayed in place.

It hummed as Samus let it swish through the air. "I call it the 'Beam Blade'. I created it after facing Space Pirates that were using their plasma blades like professional fencers."

Rei smirked. "Fine with me..." She activated her own plasma blades. They weren't as long as Samus' weapon, but she had two of them.

The two nearly identical women stared at each other for a moment, then stormed forward and met with a clash of blades.

Whenever two of their blades touched, a hissing sound could be heard. Samus used her weapon like a pro, but Rei was fighting more fiercely. No one of them gave the other one an advantage, but on the other hand, no one of them thought about fighting dirty either.

Samus turned around elegantly and let her blade spin around. As it swished down towards Rei, the clone was able to block it with both of her two plasma blades at once. For a few seconds, their weapons were locked, and they struggled to get them free. With a powerful yank, Samus freed the Beam Blade and pressed yet another button on her arm.

The erect beam suddenly dangled down from the tip of her cannon arm, like it was a whip instead of a blade.

"Interesting feature," commented Rei.

"In this form, it's called the Beam Whip," Samus explained and lashed at her opponent. Rei blocked every attack while walking backwards.

Then, Samus' whip got wrapped around one of Rei's blades by accident. Samus pulled with all her might, but Rei was as strong as herself and managed to keep standing. Rei smirked as she saw her opponent sweating. She raised her left blade, which was still free, and waited for a moment. Then, in a quick motion, she stormed forward to impale Samus with the left blade.

Samus reacted solely on instinct, sidestepping the attack, jumping sidewards, freeing her whip and aiming for Rei's feet. The beam wrapped itself around the armor's leg, and Samus gave it a strong yank.

Rei lost her balance and fell down. She was alert enough to deactivate her blades, as they could have caused a nasty accident while falling to the ground.

Rei hit the ground, turned around quickly... and found herself staring at the tip of Samus' Beam Blade.

The bounty hunter grinned down at her blue-haired counterpart. "Checkmate, I'd say!"

Suddenly, Asuka yelped. They all turned around, although Samus made sure Rei couldn't escape.

Taki was standing behind the red-headed pilot, this time threatening her with the altered form of Rekki-Maru. Grinning, she activated the electrical, humming blade. "No one makes a false move... and she stays alive." She smirked. "And I suggest you don't use that Ice Beam of yours, bounty hunter, it wouldn't do anything..." She patted a black box hanging from her belt. "This little thing is a force field generator... beam weapons won't do anything to me. Only cold steel..."

"Dang it, why does it have to be ME every time?" Asuka groaned. She sweated when the humming blade came closer to her face.

"Asuka!" Shinji shouted. "Hey, let her go! What do you want from us?"

"It's very simple," Taki sneered. "I'm on a mission to end some lives... yours and that of the hunter. So I ask you once: Are you willing to take your little girlfriend's place?"

Asuka gritted her teeth. Girlfriend? That woman had some nerve...

"Don't do it, Shinji," Asuka shouted. "I'll be fine."

Shinji sighed. He just couldn't let Asuka die... "All right, I'll do it."

"Whoa there, man," Kaji interfered. "Did you hear what she just said? She wants to kill you!"

"I know," Shinji replied. "But... we have no choice."

"How foolish," murmured Rei from where she was still lying. "Do you want to throw away your life like that?"

Shinji glared at her. "I don't know if you could ever understand it, you being a clone and working for the pirates... but to save one of my friends, I would do almost anything."

'Is he serious?' Asuka wondered. 'Does he really care about me that much? I never knew...'

"All right," the ninja said. "First, drop your armor. I want to take no chances."

Shinji closed his eyes. After a while, his Power Suit flickered and turned into energy. Finally, his hands grasped the little device with the 'S' symbol on it.

"He's really doing it," murmured Kaji. "That boy is crazy..."

"He's not crazy," Misato answered. "He's brave... he doesn't want his friends to die."

"Now come closer," Taki said. "And I release your girl."

"Let her go first," Shinji demanded. "And I'll do anything you want."

Once again, Taki threatened Asuka with the electrically charged Rekki-Maru. "You are in no position of making demands, boy," she said. "Come here or I'll roast her pretty face."

Shinji snarled in anger, but he had no choice. Hoping Taki would keep her promise, he stepped closer.

Rei couldn't believe it. What was it that made this boy act like this? During the few days she existed, she never had any friends besides Ritsuko, so she didn't quite get it...

Shinji was standing directly in front of Taki and Asuka. "Okay, I'm here! Now let her go!"

Taki grinned. "All right, boy..." She quickly grabbed Shinji's arm and at the same time, pushed Asuka away from her. Asuka instantly grabbed her gun and fired a shot, but it harmlessly bounced off the force field.

Taki reacted by touching Shinji's neck with her blade.

Shinji screamed as his body was shocked by the weapon.

"Shinji!" Asuka cried, dropping her gun in shock. That was her fault...

"I suggest you don't try that again," Taki grumbled. "Or you'll join your little friend." In a fluid motion, she exchanged her weapons. Now it was the evil blade Mekki-Maru that was being pressed against Shinji's neck.

'Only one thrust and I have finished my job,' she thought in anticipation. 'And I can send his soul to my master, Soul Edge...'

Meanwhile, Misato had been thinking about a solution. Suddenly, she had an idea. Smirking, she put her hands behind her body where Taki couldn't see them. She produced a small rock in her hands.

Before Taki could do anything, Misato suddenly shouted: "Hey, ninja-girl!"

Taki turned her head around in annoyance.

And got hit by a boulder that was as big as a volleyball, right into her face.

Her blade fell to the ground.

Shinji quickly reacted, grabbing the dazed woman's arm and twisting it around. "Well, it looks like you aren't that tough without your weapons," he grinned. He looked over to Misato. "Thanks for the help!"

She gave him the thumbs up. "Anytime!"

Taki snarled angrily. Her face had turned red and was swelling, while some blood trickled out of her nose.


	6. Alpha or Omega?

Before Taki could think about escaping, the door opened once again, and several pirate troopers entered the room, as well as the captain.

He activated his translator. "Well, well," he growled. "Looks like the experiment was a failure after all." He looked darkly at Rei. "I never trusted those super-clones of that human. And that ninja wench... I always told the commander, we shouldn't work together with humans. After all, we're the superior race." He made a commanding gesture. "Kill them all!"

Rei gasped. If she wasn't the Space Pirates' supreme weapon, what was she? He was right... she deserved to die...

"Oh no," Shinji snarled. "I don't know just what your problem is, but I won't just stand here and watch while you kill two already defenseless humans."

The captain just huffed. "Fire!"

And the troopers started firing their cannons. Everyone quickly jumped back to take cover, and Shinji had to let go of Taki. The ninja quickly jumped upwards, where she hid in a dark corner of the ceiling and waited.

Samus pulled Rei to safety, behind a pillar. "Well, looks like you're expendable to them," she smirked. "I think you have two choices left: Letting yourself being killed or help us beating them."

"Why should I help you?" Rei said weakly. "My purpose was to kill you... and I failed. My life is meaningless..."

"Don't say that," Samus shouted and blasted a trooper with her own Wave Beam. "Every human, cloned or not, can take his life in his own hands. If you want to do something else than serving those monsters... fine by me! And it doesn't matter for what purpose they created you."

'They didn't create me,' Rei suddenly realized. 'Dr. Akagi created me... the pirates just trained me.

And I can use that to my own advantage.'

"They wanted to have a powerful weapon," she snarled. "And now they're gonna feel just how powerful this weapon is they created."

And suddenly, her own armor changed colors and got the same purple markings as the armor of the trooper Shinji had defeated earlier. She took aim on one of the soldiers and fired.

A wave-like beam of electricity flew through the air and shocked the troopers.

Samus stared. "That... was a Wave Beam!"

Rei grinned. "They copied not only your body, but your weapon system as well... but this suit is the only one that can change between beam types."

While Kaji and Pen Pen fired at the pirates, Misato stood in the middle of the fire, surrounded by her rocky armor. The pirates' shots just bounced off the rocky surface. She grinned. "I think I'm starting to like this..." She raised her arms to protect her face. "Now, how about taking a little shower?"

And the troopers received a little shower.

A shower of hard rocks.

Taki wasn't going to fight alongside her victims, but she also couldn't let the pirates get away with their treachery. So she skillfully climbed along the ceiling, sometimes dodging a misfired shot.

When she was above the pirate captain, she smiled.

The captain never knew what hit him, when Taki suddenly appeared behind him and thrusted Mekki-Maru inside the back of his neck.

With an inhuman wail, the captain could only twitch as his very own soul got sucked out of his body... and inside the cursed blade.

When his dead body fell to the ground, Taki smirked. "You let your guard down..." And after throwing a small smoke bomb, she disappeared.

The final pirate fell under the charged Power Beam of Shinji.

"Okay," Asuka said while wiping her brow. "Case closed. Next."

Shinji looked over to where Samus and Rei were standing. Samus was staring into her clone's eyes, while Rei was looking down.

"I won't stop you if you want to kill me," Rei said. "But please, promise me to save Dr. Akagi... She's the one that created me, and I don't want her to stay a prisoner of the pirates forever. Besides, now that I failed, they might even kill her... So please, save her!"

Samus sighed. "We won't kill you... because you only helped the pirates because you didn't know better. As for your friend, we will help her if we can, don't worry about that. Just tell us one thing: Do you know if her condition can be cured?"

She gestured towards Misato, who nervously looked at her own stone arms.

Rei blinked. "This condition... is peculiar. I guess it was been caused by the confined experiment they call 'Thardus'."

"Well, it was a giant made from rocks," Misato said. "Does that sound like your 'Thardus'?"

Rei nodded. "Yes, that's him. Your skin must have been infected by the Phazon in his structure. And I don't know if there is a cure for it, I'm sorry."

"The what?" asked Shinji? "The Phazon? Are you talking about that blue substance?"

Rei nodded. "Yes. It's a plague that's contaminating this planet from within... It's mutating plants and animals, and even lifeless beings like stone."

Samus thought about the Parasite Queen and the monstrous plant Flaahgra. And now, Thardus. "The plague the Chozo wrote about," she whispered. "It wasn't just the poison in the ruins... it's this... this Phazon! And the pirates... they probably want to use it for their own deeds."

Asuka gasped. "So that's the reason why the Chozo are all gone... it must have something to do with that stuff. And if the whole planet is contaminated..."

"It's spreading, every day a little more," Rei explained. "And some day, the whole planet will be infested."

Samus closed her eyes. "We can't let that happen... we have to stop it, somehow! And if it's the last thing I do! I'll find a way!"

* * *

Samus carefully entered the gloomy laboratory. Behind her, Rei and the others were following close.

"Be careful," Rei whispered. "It might be that there are some pirates left..."

Suddenly, the lights got switched on. Before them, two troopers were guarding Ritsuko.

They had no translating device, but it was clear what their snarling meant. The humans should stand back, if they value Ritsuko's life.

"Dr. Akagi," Rei shouted.

"R... Rei," the scientist stuttered. "Don't worry about me... run away... don't let them get you."

"What should we do?" Shinji asked. "We can't just let them kill her."

"Oh, that's not what we want, right Shinji?" a well-known voice said. "After all, she is a brilliant scientist who could assist us in our cause..."

Shinji couldn't believe his ears... "K-K-Kaworu?"

A monitor switched itself on, and the face of his long-lost friend looked down at him. "Good to see you again, Shinji," he smiled. "Good to see you didn't waste your precious youth. You became quite the fighter... What a shame that you waste your talent on the wrong side."

"What do you mean?" Shinji asked nervously. "Don't tell me that you..."

"That I'm helping the Space Pirates? Shinji, I already am one of them. I am their commander. They listen to every command I give them. Taking their side was the only possibility... they will rule the galaxy with their might, and I will be their agent... The leading force behind their actions."

"You're insane," Shinji said in tears. "The old Kaworu would have never done such things. What happened to you that changed your mind like this?"

"It's quite an intriguing story, but I'm afraid we don't have the time for this... You have something that belongs to me, Shinji, and I want it back. Unit 00 is our property, and if she doesn't serve us willingly, we will torture her little scientist friend until she cooperates."

"Who's Unit 00?" Asuka asked in a confused voice.

"It's me," Rei whispered. "They want me..."

The pirate troopers held their blades against Ritsuko's chin. She sweated.

"Now, I'd like you to make a decision, fast," Kaworu shouted. "I'm getting impatient... What do you prefer? Working for us or having Dr. Akagi tortured? There is no alternative."

"Oh, I guess there is..." Samus said. "But that's your problem, you never plan ahead... Ridley!"

"WHAT?" Shinji yelled.

And meanwhile, Samus shot out her Grapple Beam, which latched onto a computer console that was standing behind the troopers. She yanked hardly, and the console got ripped out of the floor, hitting the troopers' backs hardly. Ritsuko stumbled down onto the floor, but she wasn't hit, as the pirates were standing behind her. Quickly, Rei pulled her friend to safety.

"You can't be serious..." Shinji stuttered. "He can't be... Ridley!"

"You're all starting to annoy me," Kaworu darkly said. He looked at his soldiers. One of them was unconscious, but the other one stood up again. "Hurry, open the tubes."

The pirate snarled a response and jumped over to several test tubes in which some blurry shapes were floating. Rei quickly fired her weapon, but before the trooper was killed, he managed to push a button.

The tubes all slid up, revealing the creatures that were floating inside.

"Have fun," Kaworu said before switching off his monitor.

Asuka stepped back nervously. "What... what are those things?"

Samus snarled. Those were the creatures that were the bane of her existence... the reason she went to Zebes, confronted the Space Pirates for the first time and destroyed the Mother Brain.

They looked almost like green floating jellyfish, with several sharp mandibles jutting out of their underside. In their bodies, three red nuclei were visible. They gave off high-pitched screeches that Samus was too familiar with.

"Metroids..." she murmured. "They still have some Metroids... Be careful, everyone! If they grab your head, you're finished. Let me handle this."

The others all nodded. Samus knows those aliens better than any other human in the galaxy. She must know what she's doing, so they trusted her and stepped back. Only Shinji looked like he wanted to help her, but Kaji pulled him back.

The three Metroids circled Samus, while she already had switched to the Ice Beam. There was only one really safe way to kill a Metroid: First, it must be frozen using the Ice Beam or a similar weapon, as Metroids are vulnerable to cold. Afterwards, the ice has to be shattered.

But Samus had a real hard time. It has been too long since she fought them, and there were a whole of three Metroids around her. She managed to freeze one of them, but before she could fire a missile that shattered the ice, one of the others latched onto her helmet. The armor protected her, but even through the Power Suit, the Metroid could suck out her energy rapidly. So she used the only way she knew of knocking a Metroid off her: She rolled into a Morph Ball and set a bomb. The small explosion knocked the Metroid off her. She quickly turned back and was almost grabbed by another one.

"This is crazy," Shinji muttered. "We have to help her."

"How?" Asuka asked him. "She is the only one with an Ice Beam. And I don't think our other weapons will do much damage."

"Actually," the doctor spoke up. "There is another Ice Beam device in here... the pirates found it in the Chozo temple nearby. It was a vital part of their plan of using the hunter's weapons against her."

"Really?" Shinji shouted. "Give it to me, quick!"

Ritsuko thought about it for a moment, then nodded. Guarded by Shinji, Asuka and Rei, she sneaked along the wall of the room, until they reached several crates. Ritsuko opened one and pulled out the shimmering device. "Here, this is it," she said and gave it to Shinji. Shinji immediately put it on his arm cannon and watched how it got fused to the suit.

He switched to Ice Beam mode. "Time to freeze some Metroids!"

Samus almost got overwhelmed by the little critters, when suddenly, another shot of ice hit one of the Metroids from behind. The other Metroids screeched in surprise and flew away. Shortly afterwards, a missile shattered the block of ice.

"Looks like you could use some help," Shinji smirked. Samus smiled and nodded.

The remaining two Metroids seemed to know what was in store for them, and were they human beings, they would have gulped.

* * *

Deep within the Phazon Mines, Ridley was watching the battle against the Metroids on his monitors. He snarled when he saw how Shinji received his Ice Beam. And when all of the three Metroids were being blasted, he let out a scream of frustration that turned into a roar, as he unconsciously switched back to his natural form. Wings, arms and tail flailing around, he smashed crates and boulders while having a little tantrum.

('Sir...') The pirate trooper coming into the room sweated and waited until his commander had calmed down. When Ridley finally had finished, only the computer consoles and monitors weren't trashed.

('WHAT?') he snapped towards his subordinate.

The trooper nervously stepped forward. ('Um, sir, we have a problem with experimental soldier Epsilon...')

('WHAT?') Ridley screamed again. ('How can this be? I was being told that he was the only one that reached puberty, and his strength and health were in top condition. Now you come here and tell me there's a problem... Explain!')

('Well, you see, sir... It's kinda hard to explain. Why don't you see for yourself?')

* * *

Several hours earlier...

('Man, patrolling these corridors sucks,') one of the guards growled. His partner nodded. ('Yeah, always staying in these Phazon-infested tunnels gives me the creeps... and we always have to wear this stupid protection gear...')

He fumbled around with the white suit that both troopers were wearing. ('I hate it. It's always getting me hot...')

The other guard took a glance at the blue substance that was 'growing' from the walls. ('I'm more worried if they really protect... I don't want to be a victim of Phazon insanity... I saw a trooper from squad Delta who came to close to Phazon without wearing his gear... he went berserk and massacred at least four of his comrades before his officers had to kill him.')

('Yeah, I know what you mean... wait a minute!') One of the guards gripped his gun. ('What's that?')

Floating through the dark corridor was a cloud of strange lights. They were staying close to the wall, as if the Phazon would attract it. When it reached an especially big chunk of Phazon, it circled around it for a while.

('What's that?') one of the guards said nervously. ('Some sort of Bombu?')

('I don't know...') the other one replied. (I think we should contact the captain...')

Suddenly, the floating lights came flying towards them. Suddenly a dark shape appeared in its middle. It kinda looked like some sort of four-legged predator... perhaps a feline species? It looked at them with glowing eyes.

"Energy... need more... energy! Have lost all my strength... need... a new body..."

('Did you hear that too?')

The two pirates looked at each other.

('Forget about the captain, I'm outta here,') one of them screamed.

('Hey!') his comrade shouted. ('Wait for me!')

The strange being stayed behind, while feasting on Phazon...

* * *

Inside research lab Epsilon, two hours later...

The two pirate scientists looked up at their creation. Experimental pirate Epsilon was sleeping, resting quietly in his tank.

('All vital systems okay?') one of the scientists asked.

The other one nodded. ('Okay, I'm raising the Phazon level to 105 ...')

Suddenly, the cloud of lights the two guards were seeing earlier appeared in the room. Attracted by the masses of Phazon within the giant, bulky form of the experimental soldier, it circled the enormous tank.

('What's that?') one of the scientists asked. ('An escaped experiment?')

('I don't know, if there were such an experiment, they didn't tell me about it...')

"Food... more food... and a body... a POWERFUL host body..."

('Did you say something?')

('I think it was... that thing!')

And the cloud of pyreflies entered the research tank.

* * *

When Ridley entered the laboratory in his human form, the giant figure of the experimental soldier (called 'Omega Pirate' by most of the troopers) was trashing around, absorbing Phazon and clobbering every pirate that dared coming too close.

But it looked... different. It was still as big as before, and his armor plates were being covered by Phazon, but it's face looked like a cross between some feline predator and a female human. Also, it's entire body shape, while losing none of it's mass, had turned into the shape of a female human. A long strand of Phazon grew out of it's backside, forming a long tail that also looked like it was feline in nature.

"Get away from me, you pesky little worms," it growled.

In a human voice.

Kaworu smirked. "How interesting. Seems like our little experiment got... possessed by something." He remembered the reports of his men that told of various Chozo spirits within the ruins. Perhaps this was something similar.

The Omega Pirate - or whatever possessed it - looked down at the white-haired boy. "And who are you?" it growled.

Kaworu smiled. "Call me Kaworu... or Ridley, I don't care... It seems that you are some sort of spiritual being, am I not right?"

"What of it?" the creature snarled.

"You know, you just took control of one of our most powerful soldiers, and that makes this situation special for both you and me, right? Are you a Chozo spirit?"

"A what?"

"Never mind then. May I ask for your name?"

The creature snorted. "Call me Alpha!"

Kaworu blinked. What a coincidence... "Alpha, you say?"

"Short for 'Alpha Fiend'! But that name always was kinda long, so call me just 'Alpha'!"

"Very well, Alpha... I'd like to ask you if you were interested in joining our ranks."

"What's in it for me?" Alpha asked.

"Well, your spirit seems to be... addicted to Phazon. If you join us, I can assure you an unexhaustable amount of it..." He didn't add the fact that they had to reach the center of the impact crater first, but this creature certainly couldn't know that.

"You got yourself a deal, little guy," the feline Omega Pirate growled.

* * *

After Shinji shattered the frozen form of the last Metroid with a missile, Ritsuko let out a sigh of relief and sank down to the ground.

Misato stepped forward. "Well, looks like you got yourself in quite a mess, Ritsuko."

The scientist looked up. Only now she realized that she knew one of the persons that came in here with Rei. "Misato..." she said surprised. "What in the world are you doing here?"

The treasure hunter grinned. "Saving your little ass, as it seems."

Ritsuko groaned. "Of all people, why did you have to come here?"

"Well, good to see you again too. What were you doing? Helping the pirates taking over the universe?"

"Don't talk to her like that," Rei snarled angrily. "She had no choice but to do what the pirates wanted... they would have killed her."

"It's okay, Rei," Ritsuko smiled. "She didn't mean it like that."

"No, of course not," Misato assured the angry clone. "I just... I'm happy to see you're okay, that's all."

By now Ritsuko had spotted the blue discoloration on Misato's arm. "Misato, you... you got infected with Phazon!" She gasped.

Misato grinned and shrugged. "Yeah, looks like it. Doesn't look too good, huh? But check out what I can do now." And she surrounded her right arm with stone.

"You... came in contact with Thardus," Ritsuko whispered. "Oh my god... how far did it spread?"

"Well, only over my arms, then it stopped. But I can surround my whole body with stone, and I can control the rocks as well."

"Looks like you absorbed his complete powers..."

"Excuse me," Asuka interrupted. "But the question is: Can you do something against it?"

"No."

"Excuse me?"

Ritsuko looked at the red-haired space scout. "There is no cure for Phazon infection. The Space Pirates are the only ones that had experimented with Phazon this far, and even their knowledge is limited. Until now, they looked if a Phazon-infected creature could be used as a soldier or something similar, and if it turns out to be too useless for their needs, they destroy it. You're very lucky that it didn't spread further in your body, Misato. Had it reached your internal organs, they too would have become infected with Phazon... you'd still live, but you wouldn't be yourself anymore."

Misato shivered. "Well, seems like I got lucky..."

"But where did the Phazon come from?" Samus asked. "The Chozo wrote about a big plague that infested the planet. They surely must have meant the Phazon, right? So what happened?"

"I'm not too sure," Ritsuko explained. "Fact is, a big meteor once crashed down on Tallon IV, and it was filled with Phazon. The Chozo that lived here once tried everything to stop the infestation, but their efforts were futile. Finally, they decided to build a temple that generated a powerful barrier around the impact crater. Twelve artifacts are needed to open it. Their sages predicted the arrival of a hero that sometime should be able to stop the plague."

"How?" Shinji wondered. "What could be done against this stuff if there is no cure?"

"The Space Pirates' scanners showed them that a massive creature is situated deep within the meteor's core. And that is the place where most of the Phazon is generated. They believe that it is this mysterious creature that generates the Phazon. If someone would destroy that being, the flow of Phazon would perhaps stop."

"But it's only a guess, right?" Misato asked. "They're not sure if it's really the solution."

"Well, the Chozo also spoke of that creature in their prophecies. They said that the chosen one will be able to find the artifacts they scattered all over the planet, enter the crater and destroy the monster, thereby saving the planet from the Phazon."

Kaji scratched his head. "Sounds pretty far-fetched, dont'cha think?"

Ritsuko shrugged. "It's all I know. Fact is, the pirates want to use the Phazon to breed enormous monsters they can use as soldiers in their army. They successfully infected Metroids with Phazon, and they even started a program that researches the results of injecting a Space Pirate with Phazon. They also dug deep mine shafts near the impact crater, just outside the barrier. From there, they're mining most of the Phazon. The mines are also their main base of operation here on Tallon IV."

"Those guys must be stopped," Shinji angrily said. "Imagine what an army of Phazon-powered Space Pirates could do to the human colonies? The federal fleet would stand no chance. We already saw what the stuff did to a simple parasite."

"You're right," Samus replied. "This time, Ridley has gone too far. We have to infiltrate their mines and put an end to this."

"And what about the planet itself?" Misato asked. "Do you also plan to do something about the meteor?"

"We'll see about that later. The pirates are our bigger concern right now."

"She's right," Asuka nodded. "We go in there and blast the whole base into the planet's atmosphere."

"That won't be easy," Rei said. "The mines are protected by a special security door. Without the proper codes, we won't be able to enter."

"How can we get those codes?" Kaji asked. "Are they somewhere around here, in the computers?"

Ritsuko shook her head. "No, the captain made sure to delete all valuable data before he went out to fight you. But... I think there is one way of getting them."

"Which way?" Samus asked.

"The frigate that you were on has crashed down into the big lake near the ruins. I think the pirates didn't have the time to delete their data while they were attacked by the mutated parasites. I heard the captain and his men talk about how several troopers would be getting special diving equipment... I think they want to go down into the lake and save all of the research data that was still aboard."

"Under water," Samus muttered. "If I only had the Gravity Suit..."

"What's that?" Asuka wanted to know.

Samus turned her head. "The Gravity Suit is the advanced version of the Varia Suit, but it also nullifies the compression effect of water... meaning, anyone that is wearing this suit, can move around freely under water, as if they were moving through air. I already used a version of it, but... I lost the gravity device."

"That shouldn't be a problem," Ritsuko said. "The latest scanning of the Chozo ruins showed an abnormal alteration of gravity underneath a certain chamber. The pirates believe that there could be some Chozo technology hidden there, but until now, they couldn't find a way to enter the hidden chamber."

"Then we have to try our luck," Samus announced. "Get ready, everyone: We're going back to the ruins and find that chamber!"


	7. Deep Waters

They were once again standing in front of the Chozo Ruins. After a small discussion, Misato and Samus agreed to take Ritsuko with them. After all, the ruins would be a much safer - and warmer - place than the wrecked laboratory in Phendrana.

They all also agreed on trusting Rei. Even if the clone was originally trying to kill Samus, they couldn't help but sympathize with the sad-looking girl that looked so much like Samus...

Misato also seemed to come to terms with her new abilities, as the Phazon in her body seemed to have stabilized. As there really didn't seem to be an antidote, they all were pretty relieved about her decision.

Kaji stared up at the impressive wall that was rising above them. "Well, if we weren't in such a hurry, this would be the perfect place for a little treasure raid."

Samus looked at him darkly, but didn't say a thing.

When they entered the main plaza, it was getting dark, so Misato suggested camping here. Ritsuko agreed, especially because she was worried about Rei. The blue-haired girl seemed to get weaker for some reason, so she wanted to check her.

While Misato helped Ritsuko, and Asuka and Kaji put up the camp, Samus sat down next to Shinji, who had a dark look on his face... ever since they left the laboratory.

"Shinji, what's on your mind?" she wanted to know.

Shinji looked at her. "You really want to know? Isn't it obvious? Fine! I'll tell you: Today, you told me the person I knew from school, which I thought to be my best friend, would be the very same monster that destroyed my family's life."

Samus looked shocked. "You mean... this boy... was your friend? But... didn't you know? The Federation discovered it some months ago that Ridley had the ability to transform into a human being."

"I'm afraid I was always out in space and had no time listening to the news," he grumbled. "Perhaps my father just 'forgot' to tell me... Wouldn't be the first time... Hey, he also 'forgot' to tell me that it was Ridley who killed my mother, until I found out by myself."

"But how can that be?" Samus wondered. "If you knew this boy and he went to the same school as you, for all that time... does that mean Ridley had always infiltrated the Federation? I... I don't want to think about just what he could have done..."

"I really don't care about national security right now," growled Shinji. "My best friend turned out to be a space beast that I want to see dead. Just what... just what am I supposed to do now?"

Samus sighed. "Shinji... if it was really Ridley all along, he never was your friend. He just used you, gained your trust to learn more about human society."

"That really doesn't make me feel better," Shinji grumbled. He stood up and walked away from her.

Samus sighed. 'I'm really not good at this stuff,' she thought. 'I'd rather fight another bunch of Metroids than playing psychologist for a teenage boy...'

Once again, her thoughts went back to her childhood days. Old Bird was a good teacher, perhaps she should try to act more like him? Yes, he was not only a teacher and mentor, but also a good friend. Perhaps she should try to be something similar for Shinji...

* * *

Teenage Samus got thrown back when the training drones shot her with their energy blasts.

"Dammit," she cursed and stood up.

"Be more careful next time," Grey Voice shouted. "Wearing the Power Suit doesn't make you invincible, so be sure they don't hit you too often."

"I know that," Samus growled.

"So, what are you waiting for?" the Chozo instructor said. "Try it again!"

"Grey Voice," a gentler voice came from the training room's entrance. "You must learn not to be too harsh with your students."

"What do you mean, Old Bird?" Grey Voice asked irritated. "The world outside there is very dangerous. If she doesn't learn the dangers, she won't survive her first serious battle."

"You're right, my friend, but does that mean you shouldn't try to gain your student's trust?" He walked closer to the training area and nodded. "Try it again, Samus... but this time, try to watch your opponent's moves. Try to anticipate his following actions."

Samus smiled back at her old friend and mentor. "Thanks! I'll try to remember it."

And she aimed her gunarm at the training drones.

* * *

Samus sighed. Yes, being a good mentor could be hard... but Shinji seemed to trust her already... so the first step had already been done. And maybe the Chozo left the second Power Suit behind for him... and if that's the truth, she should do her best to train him. After all, no one besides her knows more the Chozo's lost wisdom than herself... and she was the only remaining person that was trained in using such technology.

She would try to make it all easier for Shinji. Starting tomorrow.

* * *

The next morning, they got up early. Because no one knew what was waiting for them, Asuka, Kaji and Pen Pen checked their ammunition... Pen Pen and Misato also were making sure their beer supplies were still sufficient.

Rei was feeling better. Ritsuko explained she just wasn't used to travelling - before yesterday, she really hadn't left the laboratory. She only got a small cold.

"Good to see you're okay," Shinji told her. Rei just looked at him and nodded.

Asuka grinned. "Yeah, I guess even our little 'wondergirl' can catch a cold, huh?"

"Asuka," Misato scolded her. Asuka giggled. Misato sighed. Kids...

"Well Ritsuko," she turned to her old friend. "Where is that chamber you were talking about?"

Everyone was ready to go, so Ritsuko went ahead, with Rei as her bodyguard. "Just follow me."

While they were going through the corridors and halls, Samus walked next to Shinji. "Say, Shinji... I just realized you really didn't have much time to get used to that Power Suit and your new beams. Do you think I should show you some tricks about it?"

Shinji looked surprised, then he smiled and nodded.

While Samus was showing Shinji several functions of his suit, Asuka, Kaji and Pen Pen were watching them.

"Looks like they're getting along pretty well," Asuka said.

Kaji grinned. "Jealous, huh?"

"What?" Asuka almost screamed. "Me, jealous? Because of Baka-Shinji? No way! Uh-uh! Not me!"

Kaji nodded. "Suuure you aren't!" He smirked.

Pen Pen laughed... well, it sounded more like a squawk. But you could see he was amused. It was always funny to see someone that was in love as well as in denial.

Because even if Asuka denied it, her face was all red. And Pen Pen knew what that meant... he had seen it before, when Misato first met Kaji.

And it was true. Asuka still liked to bicker with her pilot (Well, ex-pilot, he wasn't much of a pilot without a ship), but in reality, she began feeling much more towards him. At first, she thought it was just friendship. But after he saved her from that ninja woman in the lab, she had a hunch it was something more...

"Here," Ritsuko finally said. "This is it." And she opened a door.

They entered a very wide and high hall, with impressive-looking murals and Chozo writing on the walls. On one wall, big devices that gave off a shimmering light were attached, some sort of ancient illumination devices.

At one end of the hall, a big statue of a Chozo was standing, looking like it was sitting on a throne. It's hands were open, as if it would expect a gift.

Samus scanned the statue and the writings. "The Hall of the Elders," she read, then pointed to the statue. "I guess this is representing one of the elders of the Chozo."

"Fine, but where is that hidden chamber?" Kaji asked.

Suddenly, the light got dimmed. On the statue's surface, mysterious-looking markings were beginning to glow.

A deep voice suddenly began speaking, and it sounded like it came out of the earth. "Who are you, travellers that visit the ruins of the Chozo? Our tribe is long gone, and there is nothing left here. So what do you seek?"

"What the...?" Shinji whispered. "Samus, I thought they were all gone? Now where is that voice coming from?"

"Stay silent," she whispered back. "I'll take care of this..."

She spoke up. "Honored Chozo, I am Samus, foster child of the Zebesian Chozo, and hunter of the evil Space Pirates. My Power Suit is Chozo technology, as you are doubtlessly aware of, and it was given to me from your brethren before their home on Zebes got destroyed. My friend found another Power Suit in these ruins... and we heard that there might be some enhancements for our suits, hidden somewhere close by. We came in search for these enhancements, as we are trying to chase away evil invaders that have landed on this planet and plan to use the substance that infected Tallon IV for their own needs."

"Then their fate is already doomed," answered the mysterious voice. "For all that plague brings is death. But if you speak the truth and are indeed a child of our brethren from Zebes, we will grant you the chance to prove yourself."

"What?" Kaji muttered under his breath. "They're not just giving it to us?" Misato kicked his knee. "Ouch!" "Ssshhh! Quiet!"

"I am ready for any trial the honored Chozo have prepared," Samus said.

"So be it," the voice of the Chozo continued. "You and your friend who wields our technology will be tested... all of your other friends have to stand back. If only one of them assists you, you have failed."

"I understand and accept the conditions."

"All right, you heard them," Misato said. "Step back, everyone... Shinji and Samus will do fine."

The others complied and stepped back. Shinji and Samus both stepped in front of the big statue.

"Prepare... to defend yourself," the voice shouted. "For even if our bodies have died... our spirits live on, ready to defend our holy grounds."

While he was speaking, three strange globes of mist came hovering down to the ground next to the statue. And when they touched the floor... they turned into three glowing, translucent forms, spiritual warriors of the Chozo, eternally guarding the ruins, and ready to test Samus and Shinji in a trial of battle.

Shinji and Samus prepared themselves, and the Chozo Ghosts hissed with their eery voices. The battle was on.

Two of the spirits disappeared instantly, while the third one fired some strange shot at his two opponents. Afterwards, he vanished as well.

"What was that stuff?" Shinji wondered after dodging. "And where have they vanished to?"

"I believe it was some sort of plasma," Samus replied. "Ectoplasma, no doubt. And as they are ghosts, they are able to change between dimensions, turning themselves invisible in the process..." She quickly turned around and fired a Wave Beam at the Chozo Ghost that appeared behind them.

The electrical beam hit the spirit without doing anything.

Samus jumped away from the ghost's blast and wanted to fire again, but this time, he disappeared again. One of his friends appeared on a ledge over their heads when Samus spotted him. She raised her gun and fired.

But once again, the Wave Beam didn't leave a mark.

"I don't understand it," she mumbled. "Why can't we hurt them?"

Shinji smirked. "Samus, try scanning them first, okay?"

Samus groaned. Of course... Who was the teacher anyway, she or Shinji? She quickly activated her Scan Visor and tried to lock onto one of the spirits while Shinji protected her. It was difficult, but finally she got all the data they needed.

"Of course they won't be hurt by it... they're immune against natural energies such as fire, ice or electricity... Switch to your Power Beam!"

Shinji did it and grinned. "Time to use that trick you taught me..." He looked up at a ghost that was gathering energy for an especially dangerous shot of ectoplasma. Meanwhile, he powered up his own charge beam. He nimbly dodged the ghost's shot and activated his missile launcher, while the Charge Beam was still in function.

"Take THIS!" he shouted and fired. An immensely powerful missile got shot out of his cannon, surrounded by the charged energy of the Charge Beam... a Super Missile! The instant it hit the spirit, it let out a strange groan and vanished... but this time for good.

"Good idea," Samus said. "Now let's take down the other two..."

* * *

They emerged victorious, both of them.

"You have done well, brave warriors," the voice of the spirit spoke up. "Now, we intend to keep our promise... the ancient technology shall be yours." And after he said that, the statue slid backwards and revealed a hatch.

"Go down into the chamber and take what you seek. There, you will also find one of the Twelve, artifacts we used to seal off the crater from which the big plague started. If you are our true saviours, take it, find the other ones and save our planet... We have faith in your abilities."

Samus nodded. "I thank you, honored Chozo! We won't fail you."

And then, the room lit up again, and the glowing markings on the statue disappeared.

Asuka shivered. "Wow! Now that was creepy! But at least we can use their technology. Come on, look inside!"

Samus opened the hatch and jumped down into the secret chamber. On the ground, she found the device they were searching for: The Gravity Suit. She looked up... and before her, hanging at the wall, she saw the artifact the Chozo spoke of. It looked like some sort of transparent cogwheel, only one of its parts was glowing. She thought about it for a while, then touched it.

A surge of energy flowed through her suit as the artifact got absorbed. She blinked, then accessed her databank. She realized that the artifacts were stored inside her suit, turned into data. Once she found all of them, they would be able to remove the barrier over the impact crater.

Samus nodded in determination. She would do it. After beating the pirates, she would save this planet from its plague.

"Hey Samus," Asuka shouted from above. "You found anything? Come out of there!"

Samus jumped out of the hatch, and Shinji closed it. "Well?" he asked in anticipation.

Samus held out her hand. Inside, the gravity device was lying. It looked just like the Varia Suit device, but purple in color.

"Let's activate it together," she suggested. Shinji nodded, and together, they touched the small gadget.

Samus pressed a button, and purple energy flowed from the device over their Power Suits. After the device had vanished, their suits had turned purple as well.

"Not bad," commented Misato. "And with this stuff, you can move around freely under water?"

"Well, we won't be able to swim," Samus explained. "The armor is too heavy for it. But apart from that, you're right."

"Looks like our defensive shields have risen as well," Shinji realized. "Not bad at all..."

Asuka once again got jealous. "Yeah yeah, we all can see you got awesome new toys. Can we go now?"

'It just isn't fair,' she thought. 'Shinji always finds cool stuff, and I'm stuck with my old space suit and standard gun. I wanna have a cool upgrade as well.'

And a part of her mind couldn't help but think how good Shinji looked inside his new Gravity Suit...

Asuka knocked herself on the head. Bad Asuka! Bad!

* * *

Samus and Shinji were staring down into the dark depths of the lake. Especially Shinji felt a little queasy... They would be under water for a long time, perhaps even for hours, until they found the damn data in the sunken frigate's computers.

"Perhaps it's all a waste of time," he mumbled. "Perhaps the computers don't even work anymore. Perhaps the pirates have already deleted all the data. Perhaps..."

Samus slapped him playful on the shoulder. "What's wrong, Shinji?" she grinned. "Cold feet?"

He gulped and looked into her face. "Yeah... yeah, I think so..."

"Don't worry," she told him. "It will be all right. You almost won't feel the water at all. You suit will protect you from any pressure. And if we run into some pirates taking a dip, we'll just beat 'em. What do you say?"

"I think... you're right. It's... it's just water, after all." He took a deep breath. "I'm ready."

Samus smiled. "Good." She turned back to the others. "And you will all be fine until we get back?"

"Don't worry about us," Misato said. "We'll just prepare for the upcoming battle. Hone our skills, check our ammunition, drink some beer..."

Pen Pen nodded. "Wark!"

Samus looked at Ritsuko. "And what about you? Will you be okay as well? I mean, you won't exactly be able to defend yourself..."

The scientist woman smiled. "Thanks for your concern, but I think I'll be okay. Remember, Rei is here to protect me."

The blue-haired clone nodded.

Samus nodded back. "Okay then, I guess we are ready to go... Wish us luck!"

She turned around to face Shinji. "Ready?"

He sighed and nodded. "Yeah, ready!"

They waved a last time towards their friends, and afterwards, just walked inside the water.

Shinji observed the surface getting closer and closer to his face. He nearly panicked when it reached his visor... and then he did it. He was completely under water now. He looked around. In front of him, Samus was looking at him. "You okay?" she asked. Using their transmission device inside the helmets, they could communicate with each other.

He nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine." He looked around. He clearly was under water, but the water didn't look as hazy as it normally should... in fact, he could see very clearly. He tried walking around... he felt absolutely no resistance.

"Incredible," he murmured. "That's so freaky..." He laughed. "You know, if, before this journey started, someone had told me this would happen, I wouldn't have believed him."

"Well, if you're finished, we can go can we?" Samus asked in an amused voice.

Shinji nodded. "Yes, sure... but... didn't you feel as amazed as I when you first used something like this?"

Samus remembered and chuckled. "Well, it was incredible... but I was chased by some dangerous creatures at that day, so I had not much time to be amazed."

"Oh, I understand..." Shinji looked up to where his other friends were standing. He grinned and waved.

Asuka stepped forward. She yelled something, but Shinji couldn't understand her. Misato tipped the red-head on the shoulder and handed her a communicator.

Asuka grabbed it and pressed a button. Then, she yelled loudly: "Hey! Hurry up already! We don't want to wait for you the whole day!"

Shinji winced. His ears were ringing. "All right already," he answered. "Samus, let's go... I think Asuka is cranky."

"I'm NOT cranky, you... you..." Misato quickly took the device away from the enraged space scout.

Shinji smiled nervously. "Well, we should get going..."

Samus snickered. "Yes, okay."

They turned around and began walking towards the big, sunken pirate vessel that was lying at the bottom of the lake.

They searched along the side of the vertical standing ship, until they found a small hatch which led them inside.

After Samus opened it, a small burst of bubbles came out, as well as a swarm of small, red creatures. Shinji got startled.

"Relax," Samus told him. "Those are only Tallon crabs... totally harmless."

Shinji nodded. Damn, since they went underwater, he somehow was always having this undefinable feeling of alarm... as if something could jump them every time.

Samus could feel his distress. "It's okay," she said. "Although you can't feel the water's pressure, your body somehow realizes it should be dangerous. After a while, you'll get used to it, trust me."

He nodded and followed her inside.

They walked along a tubular tunnel, perhaps an air shaft. They could hear how their metal boots were making a small 'clang' every time they stepped onto the metal ground.

"Samus..." he said after a few moments. "Do you think it was okay to leave the others behind up there? I mean, they don't have the massive artillery we got... and you're the only one that really has some real experience fighting Space Pirates. And if some Metroids appear..."

Samus looked at him. "You're worried about Asuka?"

Shinji sighed. "Yeah... yeah, I guess I am. I never thought I would feel something like that towards her, but... but I think she's more than a friend to me." He shook his head. "I can't really explain it. We always used to bicker over the most trivial things... we're still doing it. But now... when I imagine how she's in danger... I just can't stand the thought what happens when the pirates get her. And when that ninja woman caught her... I was really ready to give my own life to save her."

Samus nodded. "Yes, I could see there was more between you two... But don't worry! Misato has gained special powers that made her nearly unstoppable against conventional weapons, Kaji and Asuka herself are two capable gunners, Rei has been trained by the pirates herself - so who could know better than her how to fight them - and Pen Pen, well... let's just say the little penguin is a one-bird-army."

"It's true, but... what worries me most is: What do I do if Asuka doesn't feel like me? She still seems to think that I'm an insensitive jerk, right? So what should I do?"

Samus sighed. "Shinji... she DOES care about you. You don't seem to realize it, but she is worried about you as well. When you took her place when she was captured by the ninja, she immediately wanted to save you... and she looked like she was very miserable that she had to give you up just because she was set free."

"Yes, but..." They heard a strange sound and instantly went on guard. "What was that?"

During their conversation, they had already entered a bigger room they recognized from their first visit to the frigate... it was the antechamber of the power core. And some dark shape was floating through the water.

With a whirring sound, the strange object turned around. It was a small machine with an oval body and a single, mechanical eye that was staring at them.

The mechanical eye glowed red, and a loud beeping sound came from its body.

"A guard drone from the pirates," Samus realized. "No doubt re-built for underwater missions..." She cursed. "I' afraid the pirates must know by now that we're here..."

The Aqua Drone suddenly shot a bright, red beam out of it's eye. Samus avoided the laser, but Shinji got hit on the leg. Luckily, his suit prevented a serious wound.

"Are we safe to use the Wave Beams?" he asked Samus. "After all, we're under water..."

"Don't worry about that," Samus replied. "They were constructed to ignore any conductibility of the surrounding area..."

Shinji activated his Wave Beam and charged up an electrical shot. Then he fired... The surges flowing through the drone's mechanical body disoriented it for a while. Samus used that moment to take it down with a missile.

The drone sank down to the bottom of the room and fell apart.

Samus let out a deep sigh. "Okay, now they know we're here... so we have to be extra careful... they'll be probably waiting for us."

"Okay, I'll be careful," Shinji answered.

They opened the big door and found themselves in the big shaft of the main core of the ship... which was blasted into pieces since the Parasite Queen fell into it. The debris of the blast was still floating around the room.

But what was also floating in there were the bodies of two humanoid creatures wearing special diving gear... Space Pirates!

They talked to each other in their growling language.

"Looks like they haven't detected us yet," Samus whispered. "We can surprise them..."

"Wait a second..." Shinji scanned them, quickly. Surprised, he said: "They have created those diving suits using gravity suit technology! How can this be?"

"Maybe they didn't search for the device we found because they had their own one," Samus speculated. "Doesn't matter now. Concentrate on the battle, afterwards we can think about everything else."

"Got it," Shinji nodded.

They tried to approach the two Aqua Pirates as stealthily as possible, but it was simply impossible. Their heavy suits made them fall down onto the room's floor with a loud 'clang'. The pirates turned around and gestured towards their enemies. Activating their water jet engines, they got propelled towards them. They also started firing their heat-seeking torpedos, a version of the homing missiles their air troops normally use.

After taking the blasts, Samus snarled. Sometimes, it was really frustrating that she wasn't able to swim in this thing. "All right, let's give them a warm welcome," she shouted and froze one of them with her Ice Beam... which strangely didn't freeze the water it was flying through.

Shinji took care of the other one. While he was too quick to be hit with normal shots, Shinji used his own missiles which also had some heat-seeking characteristics.

Samus shattered the frozen body of the first Aqua Pirate with a missile and helped Shinji in taking down their second opponent.

After the final blast, the pirate let out a gurgling growl and sunk down to the bottom.

Shinji sighed. "I hope there aren't more of them around here."

"Just don't let your guard down," Samus told him.

* * *

Rei was sitting on the ground near the lake, eyes closed.

Approaching footsteps made her open her eyes. She saw the red-clad figure of Asuka coming to her. The redhead sat down next to her and let out a sigh.

"Something... on your mind?" Rei asked.

"That Shinji..." Asuka grumbled. "Always putting himself in danger... I swear, if he doesn't quit playing the hero soon, he will get what he deserves..."

Rei tilted her head. "And just... what exactly does he deserve?"

Asuka pulled her legs close, putting her chin on her knees.

"Probably a big, wet kiss..." she murmured.

Rei raised an eyebrow. "So, you DO like him after all..."

Asuka nodded slightly. "I... I guess so... Strange, huh? I mean, he always was such a stupid baka... a little wimp! And now... now I can't stop worrying about him."

Rei turned around to face the other girl. "Why not talk to him?"

"Me? With him? About THAT?" Asuka nearly screeched. "You've got to be kidding me!" Sulking, she put her head back down on her knees, while Rei scratched her head. Human relations had to be much more complex than she had thought... she still had much to learn.

But what did she expect? She was only trained to be a weapon... Made to kill the hunter...

"Huh? Something wrong?" Asuka asked. Rei sighed. That really wasn't something she wanted to discuss with Asuka...

But then, the girl had just admitted her own feelings, did she?

"Well..." she uncertainly said. "It's... it's about me..."

"What about you?"

"You... you know... I was being created by the Space Pirates, with the help of Dr. Akagi... And I was being trained to be nothing else than a weapon to kill their enemies. Can I... Can I ever stop thinking as one and be a normal human being? And will..." She hesitated. "Will Samus accept me as one?"

"Hey, it's not your fault how things went, right? And as a human being, you have all the rights to decide what's best for you, no matter what Samus or other people say. Besides..." She smiled at the blue-haired girl. "I think Samus had never held any sort of grudge against you... Especially not after realizing how they had used you and Ritsuko."

Asuka was right, Rei pondered. If Samus was able to treat her like a normal human being, why can't other people do so as well? She just had to do her best and help them against the Space Pirate.

Just then, a beeping sound came from Asuka's communicator. She raised it to her ear. "Yeah? Asuka here!"

She smiled as she heard the voice of a certain, black-haired boy: "Hey, Asuka! Mission accomplished! We found the code data! Tell the others to get ready: We're heading for the pirate's base in the morning!"


	8. Descent into Despair

Two of the Space Pirates were standing next to the entrance within the main pit of the Phazon Mines, a bored expression on their reptilian faces. Every now and then, they were throwing glances to the tunnel that was leading directly to the pit.

('Boring job...') one of them hissed.

His partner nodded. ('Yeah, you'd think Commander Ridley would have set up enough traps in case the hunter shows up...')

The first pirate shuddered. ('Don't say that name! I'd prefer that human bitch would never show her visor-clad visage around here...')

The other pirate let out a growling laugh. ('What, afraid of the hunter-bogey-woman? You're such a wuss...')

('Maybe, but...') he then snapped to attention. ('What was that?')

('What?')

('I heard something, over there...') he carefully peered over to the tunnel entrance.

His companion looked as well. ('I don't see anything... do you have hallucinations? Do you start to develop Phazon madness?')

('I'm not mad,') the other pirate insisted. ('I swear, I heard...')

Just then, a whistling sound filled the air. Both pirates turned around their heads. The one who had just made fun of his friend stared as a certain projectile was flying at him...

The other pirate jumped back as his friend was blasted to pieces by the missile. He looked back and saw the figures of seven humans that were firing his way.

He grabbed his communicator. ('Commander! We're under attack!')

* * *

All through the underground tunnels, shafts and laboratories, a loud siren was howling.

('Red alert! Red alert! All units, to your posts! The hunter and her allies have breached into our base! Engange them and destroy them! This is not a drill! Get them... dead or alive! Anyone who does not follow this order will be declared a traitor and disintegrated!')

Following the orders of their leader, all Space Pirates hurried through the corridors, grabbing their weapons and preparing for battle instructions. Guard Drones were being prepared for patrol flights, the Defense Turrets were all activated, and various traps were installed.

The presence of the hunter within this base was a threat that had to be removed immediately...

"You sure your pathetic pirates will be able to hold them off for long?" Taki asked as she was standing next to Kaworu.

The white-haired boy smirked. "If not, they will be stopped by the Metroids... and the Phazon-infested tunnels will be a hindrance as well. And if all will be futile, we have always our secret weapon."

A captain approached his commander. ('Commander, the EVAs are ready for combat... what are your orders?')

Kaworu grinned. "Place them in research lab alpha... They will make them a warm welcome..."

Turning around to Taki, he looked at her darkly. "You know I only work with you because of your special skills... if you were a normal human, I would have killed you instantly. Your disobedience at the Phendrana Labs was inexcusable."

Taki smirked. "I am so sorry, oh 'great commander'... but that pirate leader turned out to be a complete fool. I only disposed of what would have been in the way of your plans..."

"I hope for your sake that you know your place, ninja..." he said through clenched teeth. "Your skills with the blade are nothing... when facing a space dragon!" He turned around and left the room.

Taki snarled when watching his retreating figure. "You little brat," she hissed. "Normal swordfighting might be useless... but even a space dragon like yourself is no match against the powers of my true master..." And she snickered evilly.

* * *

"Coming through! Coming through!" Kaji yelled as he blasted one pirate after another while they were running through the corridors.

Rei was fighting at the front, hacking and slashing at every pirate that came too close to her plasma blades. Shinji and Asuka were firing all kinds of beams, and if a special Beam Trooper would appear, they would take care of that threat immediately.

Asuka, Penpen and Misato took care of all the other pirates that came from behind or from the sides. Even Ritsuko had found a small gun and showed that science wasn't the only thing she was good in.

"Wark wark!" Penpen shouted as he fired at a group of cowering pirates. The he suddenly stopped. "WAAAARRRKK!"

"What's up?" Asuka asked. "Is he out of ammunition?"

Misato smirked. "No, but he needs something... else!!" And she hurled a small object through the air, towards her penguin friend.

Penpen caught it with his flipper and raised it up into the air. And then Asuka realized... it was a can of beer.

"Wark!" the penguin exclaimed before guzzling down the alcoholic beverage. Afterwards, he threw the empty can aside and attacked the pirates even more furiously than before.

Misato grinned as she saw Asuka's disbelieving face. "The more he drinks, the better he shoots," she shouted. "I stopped wondering about that fact long ago, and you should be glad about it... we have lots more where that came from." And she patted the side of her bag.

Asuka shook her head and continued firing at her enemies.

* * *

A little while later, they reached the first research lab of the pirates.

Shinji gulped as he saw the massive forms of Elite Pirates floating inside their research tanks... he didn't want to meet one of those phazon-infested aliens in battle...

"Don't worry," Ritsuko said. "Those are all failures that didn't survive the first infusion with phazon... but somewhere inside the base we could easily run into those that managed to survive their accelerated puberty."

"Just our luck..." Kaji grumbled. "Now, which way is the command center?"

Ritsuko wanted to answer, when suddenly, a door opened, and four sleek figures stepped into the room.

All of the four blue-haired, red-eyed clones were looking in Samus' direction and activated their plasma blades.

"Presence of Hunter confirmed," they spoke in their identical voices, all at the same time. "Main order: Destroy target!"

Rei was in shock. Those clones... they looked exactly like her...

"What the f...?" Asuka shouted. "What's going on? Who are they?"

"The other four results of the cloning project," Ritsuko explained. "Rei... meet your 'sisters'... Units 001, 002, 003 and 004..."

* * *

Misato pulled back her stone fist as the last one of the clones fell under her bashing.

"Heh," she smirked. "You'd assume the clones of Chozo-infused human like Samus would be able to put up a better fight..."

Ritsuko sighed and shook her head. "I told Ridley all the time... the previous results of my experiments were nothing but failures. They have next to no intelligence, and are more easily defeated than the original. They are nothing more than standard soldiers..." She seethed. "Cannon fodder for him."

Rei stared down at the four forms of her unconscious 'sisters'. "They aren't... as intelligent as normal humans?"

"No," Ritsuko replied. "It's just enough to understand and follow orders... they won't act by themselves. Just after leaving their tank, the pirates have told them their main directive... and that is to defeat Samus."

"Can we just leave them behind?" Shinji asked. "I kinda feel sorry for them..."

"Don't be," Rei growled. "They might look like me... but they're nothing but cold-blooded killers!" She raised her hand and activated the plasma blade. "I should kill them right on the spot."

Samus put her hand on her double's arm. "No, Rei! We don't have the time for this. We have to find Ridley... and drive him off this planet!"

"You're right..." The humming blade moved down. "They're not worth my time..." And she marched on, towards the exit.

Kaji whistled. "Man, she really must hate being used like that..."

"I think she just saw herself in the soulless eyes of the other clones," Ritsuko said in a sad voice. "And she's afraid that she might become just like them."

"Then we just have to make sure that doesn't happen," Shinji said with determination. "Okay, now let's move on into the Phazon Tunnels... you all ready?"

* * *

Asuka cringed as she ducked under the bizarre formation of Phazon that was 'growing' from the ceiling of the cave. Thinking about what that stuff could do to her if she were to touch it... it made her shudder.

Luckily for them, only small Patches of phazon covered the floor, so they could proceed without any delay.

Unluckily, the Phazon Tunnels seemed to be the home of several Metroids, which attacked them right after they had entered. A few Ice Beams and Missiles later, that problem was no more.

"Wow, would you look at the size of that thing," Kaji said as they passed a massive, glowing mushroom, whose cap was bigger than a human body.

Samus scanned the enormous toadstool. "Looks like it has mutated by being exposed to Phazon... I think it serves as a source of food for the Phazon-infused Metroids. Also, they might harvest it to feed it to their Elite Pirates..."

Shinji got reminded of the massive, but lifeless bodies they had seen in the tubes of the research lab and grimaced. "If that stuff is able to turn a normal Space Pirate into such a colossus, imagine what it could do to a creature like Ridley..."

"It might be too risky for them to use it on their commander right now," Samus guessed. "But it is only a matter of time before they know exactly how many Phazon is needed to change the bodily structure of a living being to their advantage."

"But even after we defeated Ridley... other Space Pirates could always come for more of that stuff."

"That means we have to get rid of the source," Samus said determined. "Whatever it is that lurks down in the impact crater of the comet... It has to be destroyed, or this planet is done for. Also, Phazon is too dangerous for this universe... So, once we took care of our little pirate problem, I'm going down there and kick its butt!"

"Problem!" Asuka piped up. "It's surrounded by that shield, remember?"

"Then we just have to collect the artifacts the runes in the ruins told us about, right?" Shinji said. "After all, Samus could easily be their 'Chosen One'."

"COULD YOU ALL SHUT UP AND HURRY?" a certain, blue-haired clone yelled from ahead.

"Sheesh, she's cranky..." Kaji grumbled.

* * *

Furiously, Shinji stared right into the eyes of a being that during his childhood, he had believed to be his friend.

"Ridley!" he snarled. "You're finished!"

The white haired alien in human disguise grinned. "Why, Shinji... How nice of you to come! And just look at the crowd you gathered... I must say, you really caused me some trouble..."

"Enough of this!" Asuka raised her pistol. "Defend yourself... or I'll blast your innards through the room!"

"How violent..." Ridley smirked. "May I ask you guys something?"

"Don't expect us to me merciful regardless of what you say," Samus growled.

Ridley snickered. "Didn't you wonder just how we managed to gather some DNA material of our most hated adversary?"

"What are you babbling about?" Samus asked.

Ridley aka Kaworu pointed at Rei. "Our little clone friend here... She and her sisters could have never been created without some organic tissue of your body, hunter!" He chuckled. "You wanna know where we got it?"

"Who cares?" Shinji cried and raised his Beam Cannon. "Probably stolen from some Federation vessel... All I know is that you killed my mother!"

"How very, very true..." Ridley giggled. "Your mother was my prey... and your father... is my business partner!"

Shinji felt like someone slapped him in the face. "W-what...?"

"You heard me! All of those genetic experiments... we could've never done it without the proper aid of the Federation! You know, I did some... negotiations with your father and other high members of the council... I agreed to spare several of their most important commercial and mining colonies, and in exchange, they offered me some organic tissue of the wretched human we previously only knew as the 'hunter'..."

"That can't be..." Shinji wheezed, not being able to cope with the truth. He knew his father was a greedy little bastard... but bargaining with that... that MONSTER, the very same creature that had killed his wife and countless other beings...

"Even if it is the truth..." Rei grumbled. "It won't help you!" She raised her weapons. "Even if you turn into your true self, you're outnumbered! Admit it, Ridley: You lost!"

"Careful, Rei..." Samus whispered. "I don't like his sly grin... He wouldn't be so confident if he hasn't some sort of trump card..."

"How very true, my dear Samus..." Ridley smiled. "May I introduce you to the newest addition of our army? A mighty being, created by pure Phazon, injected into a simple Space Pirate... and then possessed by a powerful, astral entity."

While he talked, heavy footsteps came out of the enormous gateway next to his console platform, and a dark, giant shape appeared.

"I present to you: The Omega Pirate!"

The enormous, Phazon-powered, feline form of the Alpha Fiend stepped into the room and menacingly punched against the wall of the rocky cave. The impact made the room shake, and several small pebbles fell down from the ceiling.

"So much pure power... and my natural agility as well..." AlphaOmega grinned and flexed her claws. "In addition, all those very useful pirate gadgets... I just CANNOT lose this time!"

"What... what IS that thing?" Ritsuko gasped.

"I don't care what it is," Misato said and summoned her rocky armor. "But I'm gonna turn it into kitty-litter!"

AlphaOmega confidently stomped closer. "Just go ahead and try it," she mocked.

Misato snarled and created a massive rock she controlled with the powers she got from Thardus. She lifted it over her head... and hurled it towards her enemy with all her strength.

It just hit the heavy body armor of the fiend and broke apart.

"Is that all?" AlphaOmega yawned. "This is boring..."

She raised her paw-like hands over her head and slammed them down into the ground... a massive, phazon-powered shockwave rippled over the floor and threw everyone off their feet. Only Shinji and Samus managed to jump over it, using their Power Suits' Space Jump Boots.

Quickly, they scanned their adversary.

"The body armor is weak against ballistic weapons," Shinji realized.

Samus nodded. "Yeah, but just look at all those accessories she has: Shockwave Generator, Plasma Missiles, Chameleon Cloak... Not to mention her immense strength."

"It also looks like she's able to regenerate her wounds when she steps into Phazon," Shinji said. "Damn, that's gonna be tough..."

"I know, but we can take her down... together!"

Shinji smirked at her. "I'm with you, sensei!"

AlphaOmega laughed as she saw how the tiny humans challenged her. "So, you want to die first? Fine, I don't care..."

Shinji and Samus raised their Missile Launchers together. "FIRE!" they yelled and shot at the monstrous being.

"AAUUUUGHHH..." the monster yelled as the impact of both ballistic weapons cracked her armor in two places. "What the... All right, now you made me mad!"

She fired a barrage of Plasma Missiles, and their blast radius shook the two Power Suit-clad heroes around.

"Power Level fallen to 83," the computer voice inside of Shinji's helmet told him."

"Good hit..." he groaned. "But not good enough to stop us!"

Ridley watched the battle with an expression that showed both his curiosity and boredom. He pressed a switch, and multiple hatches opened alongside the wall.

With loud growls and bellows, multiple Beam Pirates entered the room.

"What the...?" AlphaOmega growled. "Hey, what's the matter? I can take them on by myself!"

"I do not doubt you, but I want to make sure that they really die this time," Kaworu explained. He extended his right hand. "Pirates... attack!"

"This is just getting better and better..." Shinji moaned.

"We'll take care of them," Kaji shouted. "You concentrate on the big guy, all right?"

"Okay, thanks!" Shinji replied.

While their friends engaged the Space Pirates, Shinji and Samus got ready to fire more missiles... but then their enemy pressed a switch near her breastplate... and vanished from their sight.

"Where is she?" Shinji asked.

"She activated her Chameleon Cloak..." Samus realized. "Be careful, she could be anywhere..."

Quickly, she switched from normal Battle Visor to her X-Ray-Visor, a useful upgrade that allowed her to see through thin barriers and to locate cloaked enemies.

"There she is," she shouted. "She's heading to the Phazon patches in the wall!"

"She wants to regenerate her broken armor," Shinji realized. "Samus, Plan B!"

"All right!"

The cloaked Alpha Fiend gasped in surprise as she saw the two missiles that flew towards her, surrounded by a blazing trail of searing hot plasma... two Super Missiles!

"Aaaaaah!" she yelled as they hit her directly in the chest. Her Chameleon Cloak malfunctioned, and she became visible again. "You... you... I WON'T GET BEATEN THIS TIME! NOT AGAIN, YOU HEAR ME?"

"Sorry to disappoint you," Samus grinned behind her visor.

"YAAAAAARRGGGGHH!" Without any reason, the powerful fiend charged her two opponents to pound them into the ground.

"Careful there..." a third, female voice called out... from near her feet.

Then her feet hit a barrier... and wondering what it was, she looked downwards.

While the massive beast was falling down to the ground, everything seemed to move in slow motion. And during this time, AlphaOmega could see the grinning face of that impudent, stone-armored woman... who had created a stony foot trap from the cavern's floor... and she just ran into it.

And then she felt pain in her chest... incredible pain, followed by the same feeling that she had felt several times now, a very strange sensation, as if she was drifting away..."

"NOOOOO! NOT AGAAAAAIIINN..."

Shinji gulped as he saw the descending body of the Omega Pirate coming down on him. "Um, Samus... maybe we should run..."

Samus gulped as well. "Too late for that now..."

And with a mighty 'CRASH', the body of the monster collapsed on top of the two heroes.

Asuka took out the final pirate with her blaster. She turned around and cried: "SHINJI!"

"Are they all right?" Misato asked in a worried voice, as the heavy body of the Omega Pirate crashed down on the bodies of Shinji and Samus.

Ridley grinned. "Looks like the experiment was a success after all... Goodbye, Hunter Aran... may you rest in peace... NOT! Ha ha ha ha!"

'Oh no!' Asuka thought desperately. 'No, they can't be dead... anything but that!'

They all gasped when suddenly, the beast's body dissolved into pure Phazon, which slowly oozed into the ground...

And when almost all of the Phazon was gone, two figures were visible.

Shinji groaned and slowly began to stir. He pushed himself up, and only a second later, Samus did the same.

"They're okay!" Asuka shouted in joy.

Shinji frowned as he looked down at his hands. "Samus... our suits..."

Samus also took a look at the new black color of their Power Suits, highlighted with red streaks. "Huh?" she murmured. "Now this is new..."

"Their suits must have absorbed the Phazon of the monster," Ritsuko realized in excitement. "Well, I must say the technology of the Chozo really is something else."

Shinji smiled as he flexed his hands. "Nice..."

Together, they turned around and faced the bewildered Kaworu, who stared at them furiously.

"Well, out of minions, Ridley?" Samus smirked. "Looks like it's just you and us now."

Kaworu seethed with fury. He shook with rage. He snarled at them like a savage animal. And then...

...he started to giggle, which slowly turned into mad laughter.

Kaji shook his head in confusion. "What's wrong with that guy?"

"I don't know," Misato admitted. "Either that monster finally snapped, or else..." She gasped. "He still has a trick up his sleeve."

Meanwile, Rei's sharp senses had already spotted the hidden trap. "SHINJI, SAMUS, WATCH OUT ABOVE YOU!"

The two armored warriors jolted in surprise, but also reacted quickly and jumped out of the way, as the camouflaged kunoichi that was clinging to the ceiling threw her cursed blade.

This dodge would have saved their life... had Taki only aimed for their bodies.

Instead, she had aimed for Asuka... and her aim was perfect.

Asuka had only time to choke, when suddenly, the purple-glowing blade of Mekki-Maru stuck out of her chest, after it struck her backside and pierced her body. Coughing blood, she slowly staggered forward, and fell to the ground with twitching arms.

All around Shinji, the world seemed to break into pieces...

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!"

Everything seemed to flow in slow-motion, as he stormed forward to catch her limp body. He collapsed next to her, his heart already knowing that it was too late: Mekki-Maru had pierced her heart, and the cursed blade was quickly draining her life force away.

"Sh... shinji..." she stuttered.

"No! No! Asuka! Please! You can't leave! Not now... now that I know... that I love you!"

There! He said it! Just seconds before her death... What kind of confession of love was that?

But, the red-head actually smiled. She used all of her remaining strength to touch his face with her hand. "I... I know..." she whispered. "I've... been lying all the time, you know?"

"Please, don't talk," he sobbed. "Everything will turn out fine..." But he already knew just how wrong he was...

"Y-you're not a baka... or a jerk..." She sobbed as well, although she smiled at him. "You know... I l-lo..." She had to cough up some blood. "I love you, too..."

And after having said that, her eyes closed...

Shinji gasped. "Asuka!" he cried. "ASUKA!" He shook her limp body several times, but it was no use...

The cursed blade of Mekki-Maru had just claimed another soul.

Shinji cried in despair, as he sobbed into her shoulder. He barely felt the comforting hands of Ritsuko and Misato on his shoulders.

Suddenly, he was jolted awake, as the dark blade got jerked out of his love's dead body, and flew backwards to the evil ninja, who was standing next to Kaworu.

Slowly, an insatiable rage awoke within the boy's heart. "You..." he whispered. He snarled and slowly got up from the ground. "You..."

"My dear, dear Shinji..." Ridley mocked. "Aw, did you actually love her? Well, to bad! But you know: All's fair in love and war!"

Taki didn't say anything, but her insane grin and the way she licked the smooth surface of her blade told Shinji everything about her thoughts.

"Shinji, wait..."

"They'll kill you too..."

"Let's do this together..."

He was deaf to the warnings of his friends, and numb to their hands which tried to hold him back. The only thing he could feel was his anger. The only thing he could see were the two creatures that made his life useless. Words were lost to him, he just put all of his rage in one single, deafening war cry, as he stormed forward, all the time firing his gun at Kaworu and Taki.

Everything that happened afterwards was just a confusing maelstrom of moving bodies, flashing energy, splashing blood and dull cries.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity to him, it was over, and his rage dwindled away... and everything that remained was a dull, painful feeling of emptiness.

Weakly, he raised his head, barely registering that he was crouching on the cavern's floor, and that Samus and Rei were standing next to him.

The first thing he saw was that Ridley was gone. Maybe he fled.

The second thing he saw was the body of Taki... she was sitting in one corner of the room and... sobbed?

Wait a minute... why wasn't she dead? While everything else that happened since he stormed at her was just a haze in his memory, the one thing he could clearly remember was how his shots had pierced her flesh several times... He had savored the feeling of her blood that had splashed upon his face, and he had loved the sweet moment of revenge, after his rage had turned him into this... this... monster!

But why wasn't she bleeding now?

The simple fact that Asuka's murderer wasn't dead awoke his fury yet again. "Stand up!" he yelled. "Stop that and face me while I kill you! What are you sobbing at? You were the one that killed the one I loved, were you not?" He yelled so loud that his throat hurt.

"I... I..." The sorrow in Taki's voice sounded almost real. "I c... I c-can't..."

Wait a minute... that voice! That wasn't the voice of Taki. It still was a girl's voice, and that girl crouching over there still wore Taki's garments, but... Was that really her face?

"Shinji..." Samus whispered. "Look, up there..."

Shinji looked up... and froze.

Floating over the collapsed form of the unknown girl that was wearing Taki's clothes, was a black, human-shaped cloud of... SOMETHING... which stared down at him with the same evil eyes the dark ninja had possessed. In its right hand, the shadowy being clutched a blade that was pulsating with evil energy.

"CONGRATULATIONS..." a voice that sounded like the whisper of thousand spirits hissed. "YOU HAVE DESTROYED MY SHELL AND FREED MY SPIRIT OF MY HOST BODY... BUT KNOW THIS, SPACE-BOY... I WILL RETURN! AND THEN YOU WILL RUE THE DAY YOU MADE ENEMIES WITH THE SERVANT OF THE GRAND LORD THANATOS!"

Laughing madly, the apparition seemed to collapse into itself... and vanished.

Still too distraught and confused to do anything, Shinji could only mumble unintelligible words, while Misato hugged and comforted him.

Ritsuko had just finished covering Asuka's dead body with a blanket, then she went over to Samus. "What's going on?" she whispered. "What was that thing? Did you scan it? And who's that girl? It isn't the same woman that killed Asuka, is it?"

Samus slowly shook her head. "No... no, she isn't... I don't really understand it, but... My scanner informed me that the being we just saw was some sort of spiritual entity... but filled with some unknown, negative energy. That girl over there is 100 human... and I'm starting to believe that she had been... possessed by that evil spirit."

'Strange, hearing a bounty hunter speaking about spirits and ghosts...' the scientist thought to herself. But she couldn't believe her own eyes either.

Still, that girl lying over there on the ground looked like it had suffered at least as much as Shinji... and if that was the truth, she needed some comforting words.

"Ridley is gone?" Misato asked Samus. "You can't find him with your X-Ray Visor?"

Samus shook her head. "No. As soon as Shinji stormed towards him and the... the woman that had killed Asuka, he had used a teleportation device to escape." She snarled. "He has always been a coward... and he knew that this battle was lost for him."

Meanwhile, Ritsuko had reached the twitching form of the strange girl.

"Hello?" she carefully asked. "Can you hear me?"

Her whole body shuddering, the girl turned around her head and nodded sharply, while tears were flowing down her cheeks. "Y-yes..."

Ritsuko nodded. "Good. I am Dr. Ritsuko Akagi... Can you tell me your name?"

The girl took a while to gather herself, then she gulped down some tears and muttered: "Konatsu... m-my name is Konatsu..."


	9. The final goodbye

Quietly, the four humans and the penguin were sitting in front of the big pile of rubble that was showing the place where they had buried their friend's dead body.

After they dug a hole big enough to contain Asuka's whole body, Misato simply used her new powers to cover her grave with a big pile of stones and boulders. As long as the Space Pirates wouldn't come back here, her grave would be safe.

Misato, Ritsuko and Penpen sobbed a bit as they stared down at the place where their friend was buried. Kaji comfortingly put his arm around Misato.

Shinji never said a word. He just stared. He stared down at the rocks and panted heavily. Again and again he relived the last few moments of Asuka's life...

'You know... I l-lo... I love you, too...' And then she closed her eyes.

Again and again.

Rei was as sad as her friends, but she was not letting emotions distract her from what she wanted to do - and that was finding out just where that bastard Ridley had vanished to.

So, while the others were busy with Asuka's funeral, she searched through all of the Space Pirate's computers to find out if there would be some hint, some clue to Ridley's whereabouts... or maybe at least to those artifacts.

Samus was sitting in the farthest corner of the cave, where another pitiful girl was sitting, one that was even more confused about the recent events than everyone else.

"I only remember taking those weapons out of that chest..." Konatsu murmured. "And then everything went dark..." She sobbed and clutched her head. "I should have never listened to that spooky voice..."

Samus decided to press that matter some time later. "So, Konatsu... where are you from, anyway?"

"N-nerima..."

"Nerima? In which sector is that planet?"

"P-planet? No, it's n-not a planet... it's a part of Tokyo, on Earth."

"Earth?" Samus asked in surprise. "Well, that's pretty far from here... that means you're a federal citizen, right?"

"F-federal? I don't know, what do you mean?"

"You know, the Galactic Federation... its headquarters are on Earth, after all..."

"S-sorry, but I can't say I have heard from that before."

'Oh boy!' Samus thought to herself. 'Maybe not only an innocent victim, but an unwilling time traveler as well.'

"Say... don't you remember anything at all, from the time that spirit possessed your body?"

Konatsu winced and clutched her head again. "Well, I... I remember some things... some events, like flashes... I do remember how that woman... Taki... how she made an alliance with this pirate leader. And I can remember VERY clearly how... how she..." The distressed kunoichi sobbed once again.

Samus hugged her comfortingly. "It's all right," she whispered. "You don't have to talk about it, if it hurts too much."

"I-it's okay," Konatsu sniffled. "I remember how... how she killed that girl... with the red suit." She looked over to where the others were sitting around the grave. "That boy... d-did he really love her?"

"I'm afraid so," the bounty hunter sighed.

Konatsu shuddered. "He will hate me..."

"Now, now," Samus said. "I'm sure he will forgive you once he hears about your story."

"What am I gonna do now?" Konatsu sighed. "How am I gonna go home? Ukyo-sama..." She closed her eyes. "I'm never gonna see you again..."

Shortly afterwards, the others came over from Asuka's grave to where Rei was still working on the computer consoles.

"Well, found anything?" Misato asked.

"Nothing that would help us find Ridley..." Rei muttered. "But I found out that the pirates managed to find most of the Chozo Artifacts from the temple by themselves. They're storing them in a chamber that has to be somewhere nearby... only two of them are missing."

"Well, at least that's good news," Kaji sighed.

"Good news?" Shinji growled dangerously. "GOOD NEWS? ASUKA'S BURIED UNDER THE EARTH, AND YOU TALK ABOUT GOOD NEWS?"

"Whoa, man," Kaji shouted in surprise as Shinji jumped towards him, with clenched fists. "I didn't mean it like that, you know?"

"Please, calm down, Shinji!" Misato said. "This is a difficult situation for all of us."

"Maybe you don't understand..." Shinji grumbled. "Asuka. Is. DEAD! YOU GOT THAT?"

"Well, no reason for you to take it all out on us," Rei said in a coolish voice. "We want to help you, you know?"

Shinji didn't say anything else. He just grimaced and turned away from his friends.

"By the way," Rei added. "I might have found some information about your friend, Kaworu."

Shinji growled as he turned back around to face the clone. "That monster is NOT my friend, you hear me?"

"That's just what I want to tell you," Rei replied. "This pirate's log... it says that the pirates once raided a passenger ship that was on its way from Atragon 3 to Earth... and one of the passengers was a young boy called Kaworu Nagisa."

"And just what do you want to tell me?" Shinji asked. "That Ridley also fooled that ship's crew with his shapeshifting powers?"

"No," Rei explained. "They abducted Kaworu and brought him to one of their space stations... and there, they extracted his DNA to create a human form for Ridley."

Shinji gasped. "Y-you don't mean..."

Rei nodded. "After Ridley's defeat on Zebes, they worked on a new body for him, and that's how the plans for Meta-Ridley were made. But during the cloning of Ridley's body, they did not only improved it... they also added Kaworu's genes, to allow Ridley the transformation into a human."

Shinji clutched his head. "Ridley... isn't...?"

"No. Ridley is NOT Kaworu... he just made you believe he was. Kaworu... he was killed by the pirates after they extracted their DNA."

Shinji let out a powerful, pained yell. "He... he... how DARE he?"

Resolutely, he turned around and walked towards Samus with firm steps.

He threw the flinching form of Konatsu a small glance, then he glared at his 'sensei'. "Samus..."

"Yeah... what is it?"

Suddenly, Shinji closed his eyes and fell down to his knees. He put his hands on the cavern floor and lowered his head.

"Please..." he begged. "Please, you have to train me... I have to get stronger! I want to find Ridley... and pay him back! For everything he did! For everyone he killed! My Mom! Kaworu! Asuka..." His arms were shaking. "I can still search for that weird spirit afterwards, but first... we have to find Ridley! Please, Samus... help me!"

Inwardly, Samus sighed in relief. Luckily enough, Shinji didn't let himself be blinded by prejudice - and it also looked like he didn't blame Konatsu at all.

She firmly looked back at her young friend, then she nodded. "All right... I'll teach you everything I can. I want to get that bastard as well... and both of us need the training."

She turned around to face Misato, Rei and the others. "Everyone... can I ask you to find the remaining artifacts? I suppose that will give Shinji and me enough time. If we still have no clue about Ridley's whereabouts by then... we have to defeat that creature that is lurking in the crater first." She looked into Shinji's eyes. "Is that okay with you, Shinji?"

Shinji hesitated for a moment, then he nodded. "Yeah... this plague has to be stopped. And who knows... perhaps Ridley is still on the planet."

"Um..." Konatsu spoke up in a small voice. "What shall I do? I... I wanna help, too."

Samus exchanged a quick look with Ritsuko. The scientist understood at once, and she nodded.

She walked over to Konatsu and put her hand on the girl's shoulder. "You can stay with me, honey. You told Samus you were a skilled ninja yourself, right?"

"Y-yeah, I am." Konatsu smiled weakly. At least her kunoichi skills were something she could be proud of.

Ritsuko smiled back at her. "Well, I'm going to continue the artifact research at those computers... I'm gonna stay in contact with the search team via communicator. But I will need someone to protect me... do you want to stay with me?"

Konatsu looked up at her and nodded. "Of course! By my honor as a ninja, I'll protect you with my life!" she proclaimed and knelt down in front of the scientist.

* * *

While Kaji and Misato were searching for the artifacts, and Ritsuko was searching through the Space Pirates' log books with Konatsus and Reis help, Samus and Shinji were training.

It was more than training to Shinji. He put his body, his mind and his soul into everything Samus taught him.

He had to save this planet! He had to defeat Ridley as well!

Never again should the shadows of his wings cause terror in human's hearts. Never again should humanity suffer from creatures like the Space Pirates or the Metroids.

'Mom... Kaworu... Asuka... I'm doing this for you as well,' Shinji thought to himself, while he and Samus were in a tense training combat, consisting of shooting all kinds of beams and ballistics, dodging each others shots and using the terrain to their advantage.

Shinji ducked behind boulders, used his Grapple Beam to climb on hanging rock formations and tree branches, and rolled into a Morph Ball to quickly roll around his mentor's feet.

And in the end...

Samus panted heavily as she stood up from the ground. Behind her visor, proud eyes were looking at her student.

"Shinji... you have done very well. I have taught you everything I can, and you are almost as good as I am... perhaps even better! The only way you can get better now is by experience and sole training by yourself."

They were both standing in the Hall of the Elders, in front of the giant Chozo statue of the elder, which seemed to look down at this young warrior with recognition.

Shinji sighed as he fell down to his knees. "Thank you, Samus... I won't let your training with me go to waste. I will use my abilities to defeat Ridley, to free the planet from the creature and it's Phazon menace, and after that, I will travel across the galaxy, to see if I can find more injustice brought upon the people by the Space Pirates... or by Federation ploys, like that of my father..."

"Good, but never forget one thing, Shinji: Don't let yourself be blinded by hatred! If Ridley or anyone else is going to use it against you, you will have lost. Keep your mind as sharp as your body, and you have a much better chance of winning."

She didn't tell him he would win at any rate, as both of them knew there was still a chance they could lose. There would always be one. But that wouldn't stop them from trying to reach their own goals in this world.

Just then, their communicator beeped.

"Samus here!"

"Samus, this is Misato!" the voice of the purple-haired treasure hunter spoke up. "We have found all of the artifacts... it wasn't quite as hard as we believed. Well, not with all those clues written on the ruin walls..."

"Good, we are just finished as well. Let's end this quickly! Tell Ritsuko that she and her bodyguards better stay where they are, it's much safer for her where she is right now."

"Got it," Misato nodded. "Let's meet at the temple entrance, okay?"

"We'll be there!"

Samus switched off her communicator and smiled at Shinji. "Well, this is it... are you ready?"

Shinji nodded as he hefted his arm cannon. "Ready if you are, sensei!"

"Good! Then... let's end this!"

* * *

A short journey through the Chozo Ruins, and they were back on the rainy surface of the Tallon Overworld.

Shinji looked around while the raindrops were hitting his visor. This world was so full of life, and there was no visible sign that its destruction had already begun, but...

He knew that several feet below them, the Phazon was creeping through the bowels of the earth, slowly, like a deadly bacillus, was it slowly mutating and destroying all life forms that came in contact with it.

And it's source... was down there, at the bottom of the crater in which they now where staring.

It was an enormous abyss, deeper than any canyon Shinji had ever seen before. Down at its bottom, a tiny black dot was visible. That was the meteor that once impacted on Tallon and brought the deadly creature with it... and the Phazon!

The whole crater was surrounded by a shimmering field of energy, that was only visible if one took a very close look. That was the energy barrier the Chozo erected around the crater, to make sure no one would be able to misuse the terror that was buried down there.

But still, there was Phazon oozing out of that shield, into the nutrient soil of Tallon. And if nothing was done, this world would turn into a wasteland within a few years.

Above the crater, the Artifact Temple was floating. A long corridor was connecting the temple with the mainland, a bridge constructed by the Space Pirates.

But none of the ruthless aliens was nearby.

"You think the ones in the Phazon Mines were the last ones?" Shinji asked Samus.

She shrugged. "Might be. It explains why Ridley had escaped. He knew the base was lost as soon as we defeated his dear pet."

A rustling in the bushes made them both jerk around, but they relaxed when they saw Misato, Kaji and PenPen.

"Whoa, aren't you the edgy ones," Kaji said.

"Sorry," Samus sighed. She then looked at them sternly. "You have the artifacts?"

Misato grinned as she took her backpack off her shoulder. "Yup, in here, every single one of them! If you need to find some ancient relic, leave it to a treasure hunter!"

"Then let's not waste any more time," Shinji said. "The planet is dying as we speak."

"Be careful, Shinji!" Misato shouted after him as he walked towards the bridge. "We don't know if there are still some Space Pirates around, and I don't want to die before knowing if those babies are really worth the trouble." She patted the side of her backpack.

"You can relax," Samus spoke up as she followed her student. "I've scanned the area with my X-Ray-Visor... no one's here except for us... and a horrid creature of destruction, waiting below us, down there in that impact crater."

"Oh hah hah hah!" Misato grumbled as she and her two sidekicks followed the two armored space warriors.

They had to walk quite a distance until they reached the end of the corridor. A security door was installed on one side of the temple wall, but one shot of Shinji's Power Beam opened the door easily.

They found themselves within a dark corridor.

"Another long corridor?" Kaji groaned. "I thought this way the entrance..."

"This is the lobby," Samus explained as she scanned a small inscription on the wall. "I suspect that the real temple will be behind the next door."

Following the corridor and a few hallways, they finally stepped into the actual temple itself, and onto the impressive balcony attached to the temple.

Awestruck, they looked at the numerous bird-like statues that surrounded them, each of them covered with ancient inscriptions. Glowing lines of power were visible in the floor, connecting all of the statues with one big, glowing spot in the middle of the balcony.

A tall balustrade separated the balcony from the deep abyss below... the impact crater.

"Is this the place?" Misato asked.

Samus stepped forward and touched one of the statues.

"Yes. The artifacts have to be put into the sockets at the bottom of the statues."

"Don't worry, we'll take care of it," Kaji spoke up.

PenPen nodded. "Wark!"

With Shinjis help, the treasure hunters put the artifacts into position.

The glowing light that was running along the lines that connected the statues was growing stronger, and the circle in the middle became a beacon of light.

"Well, here goes nothing..." Samus murmured as she stepped forward.

Suddenly, a shrill scream made them all jump in surprise.

"NO!!" a booming voice roared. "IF I CAN'T GET WHAT IS DOWN BELOW THERE, NOBODY WILL!"

And as Meta-Ridley descended down from the clouds, the cybernetic space dragon shot several gleaming meson bombs from hatches in his armor. The bombs hit the balcony in a barrage of light and explosions, as the humans had to scatter and shield their eyes from the bright light.

Samus looked up and coughed. "What... what happened?"

Shinji gasped. "No! The statues!"

They all looked at the smoking, cracked remains of the bird statues. Only few of them survived Ridley's brutal assault.

Shinji snarled as he looked skywards. "You... you..."

Meta-Ridley was circling above them and laughed. "This is the end of it, is it? No one is gonna save this planet now! I might not be able to reach that creature anymore, but at least I will be satisfied... after I tear you limb from limb!"

"You won't have it that easy, Ridley!" Samus spat as she activated her Plasma Beam.

"Yeah..." Kaji grinned and brandished his plasma rifle. "You'll see that we are full of surprises."

Misato summoned part of her rocky armor and smacked her two stony fists together. "Bring it on!"

Shinji just looked into the cruel eyes of the monster that had killed the ones he loved. "Nevermore, Ridley..." he muttered. "Nevermore will you hurt anyone! This ends NOW!!"

Samus quickly scanned Meta Ridley's body, while the flying space alien and leader of the Space Pirates was dive-bombing them again and again, shooting his bombs and heat breath.

"Multi-Missile System, Kinetic Breath Weapon, Meson Bomb Launcher, and an extremely resilient armored hide... Those Space Pirates really don't do things by halves."

"Lovely!" Kaji grimaced as he fired a few shots from his rifle, which promptly bounced off Ridley's armor. "And can that scanner of yours tell us how to beat him?"

"Well, his plating is a bit thinner on his chest... so aim for that!"

"Easier said then done..." Misato muttered as she erected a stone barrier to ward off a few of Ridley's shots. "He's zipping all over our heads, and then his arms and wings are always in the way... how are we supposed to hit him?"

"By luring him in close, of course," Shinji snarled.

Ridley laughed as his victims were cowering below him. "That's right, fools! You can't win! Our cloning and cybernetic technology is superior to your feeble human technologies in every regard."

He flew a quick spiral to dodge a few MG shots from PenPen. "This body... it's stronger, faster and better protected from your fire than my previous one. I am unstoppable!"

"Oh yeah?" Shinji shouted and fired a few Missiles at the space dragon. "Now that explains everything: Your friends invested so much in your body, that they forgot to include the brains!"

"How dare you mock me?" Ridley roared as he swooped down at the former space ranger. He opened his mouth widely, intent on crushing Shinji's bones with his jaws.

Shinji had waited for that moment. He stood still, waiting for Ridley to come down... and charged up his Plasma Beam. And just before the ferocious alien reached him, he fired.

"EAT THIS!" he screamed, as he fired a scorching hot stream of searing plasma into the muzzle of his adversary.

Ridley screeched as the intense pain jolted through his head. Shinji quickly jumped out of the way, as Ridley came shooting through the air, not being able to control his flight path anymore.

He smashed into the remains of a statue, rolled over a few times, until he stumbled down on the balcony's stone floor.

He shook his head. "You're gonna pay for this, you pitiful humans," he growled. He spread his wings to take off into the skies again, when suddenly something heavy jumped on his back.

"Hey!" he shouted. "Get off!"

Misato, who had summoned her whole stone armor to pin the alien leader to the ground, smirked. "What's wrong? Can't get up? I'm not that heavy, am I?"

Ridley growled and snarled as he thrashed and flailed around, his claws, wings and tail trying to wipe the pesky treasure hunter from his back. He knew he wouldn't be able to get off the ground with that weight upon his back.

"I will crush all of your bones with my bare hands, human, if you don't get off NOW!!"

"Well, if you insist..." Misato shrugged. But before she jumped off, she gave her penguin friend a sign, and PenPen jumped onto Ridley's shoulder, ignoring the flailing wings.

He pulled something from his belt and nodded with a satisfied "Wark!". He then attached two tiny objects to Ridley's wings, before he and Misato quickly jumped off.

With a roar, Ridley spread his wings and started flapping them, slowly ascending into the air.

"And now you all will die!" he said, preparing his meson bombs to fire.

"I don't think so," Misato said. "PenPen, hit the button!"

The penguin reached for a small remote control on his belt, as he nodded. "Wark, wark!"

And then his flipper pushed down the button.

Two deafening explosions suddenly filled the air, and Ridley felt unbelievable pain in his wings, as the explosions of the remote mines PenPen had placed on them shredded their membranes to pieces.

Not being able to hold his massive weight in the air any more, Ridley fell back to the balcony with a shattering crash.

"You... you..." he grumbled as he stood up on his hind legs. "You're going to PAY for this!!"

"Keep your guard up!" Samus shouted. "Even without wings, he's still a formidable opponent!"

"Thanks for the warning," Kaji gasped as Ridley came lunging for them, trying to hit them with his claws.

"You'll never be a match for me!" the pirate leader growled, swiftly spinning around. His tail spun around the air, sweeping most of the humans from their feet. Only Shinji and Samus managed to keep standing.

Ridley grinned evilly as he stared at the two armored fighters. "Face it, you two: You have lost! You don't have anything left!"

He gestured at Samus. "Your parents, the Chozo... gone!"

He gestured at Shinji. "Your mother and lover... dead!"

He spread his arms. "What else do you have?"

Shinji aimed his arm cannon at Ridley's head. "Ourselves... our friends..." He narrowed his eyes. "And our revenge!"

He fired a missile from his launcher, again aiming for Ridley's jaws. The ballistic projectile impacted with his armored head and made Ridley stagger for a short instant.

And during that instant, the weak spot on his chest got exposed.

Samus grinned as she aimed her own weapon at his chest. "Game Over, Ridley!"

While Shinji had fired, she had charged her own weapon... and now, when she fired her own missile, it was surrounded by a shimmering energy field... turning it into a Super Missile!

The massive burst of energy threw the vicious creature backwards, while his breast armor got ripped to pieces.

Ridley slammed against the balustrade of the balcony with a groan, while sparks came flying out of his shattered armor.

"You... you... this isn't over yet..." he grumbled as he tried getting back to his feet.

"It is!" a deep voice suddenly spoke up. "Right now!"

And suddenly, gleaming white beams came shooting at Ridley's chest, hitting him right where his protective armor was shattered.

The space dragon screeched in pain as another beam joined the first, and the another, and another.

Shinji and Samus looked back over their shoulders in surprise, where they could see how the eyes of several Chozo busts were glowing and projecting the white laser beams on their enemy's chest.

Ridley's screams intensified as the beams started to push him back. The flesh beneath his metal scales suddenly caught fire, caused by the immense heat of the beams. He stumbled backwards, fell over the balustrade... and let out a deafening roar of rage as he plummeted down to his demise.

Shinji and Samus quickly ran over and watched down into the abyss of the impact crater, where Ridley was slowly turning into a blazing comet of destruction... and then his body blew apart, apparently caused by his malfunctioning armor and the blazing fire that had consumed his body.

Shinji gulped. Finally... finally the universe was freed from that monster!

He turned back to Samus, as he saw floating, shimmering figures appearing in the air behind them.

The Chozo Spirits were floating right where the destroyed statues had been, and as they had before, the glowing lines on the floor suddenly connected their positions.

The ghost of an elderly Chozo smiled down at them. "I knew you could do it. I believed it ever since you have beaten our ghostly warriors back in the ruins." His gaze swept over the two heroes. "You will save our planet, I know it."

Samus lowered her head. "I am honored by your faith, noble elder! I will do my best to stop the infestation of the planet, come what may."

"I know you will," the Chozo Elder nodded. "You are the hatchling!"

He then looked at Shinji, who lowered his head as well. "I will do my best to help, honored elder," he said.

"Good," the elder smiled. "Now, we will open the gateway to the meteor for you. But before that, there is someone who would like to talk to you..."

He looked back into the middle of the circle of spirits, where another, shining apparition had appeared... the figure of a beautiful girl with red hair.

"Asuka..." Shinji murmured.

His lover smiled as she hovered down to the floor. She reached out with her hand to touch his cheek, but he couldn't feel anything.

"I had to come back one final time to say goodbye," Asuka smiled. "I just had to make sure you wouldn't share the same fate as I..."

She looked over to where Ridley had fallen to his demise. "I can't really say that I'm happy how things turned out, but... at least you showed that creep who's boss!" She grinned at her boyfriend.

Shinji tried to grin as well, but he couldn't help it: The tears that appeared in his eyes just came like that.

"Hey, don't cry!" Asuka said. "It's okay..."

Shinji shook his head. "Nothing is okay," he sobbed. "How am I... how am I going to live without you..."

"Now don't start that, you hear me?" Asuka said sternly. "You'll do fine! You managed to live through the first half of your life without me pretty well, remember? Now stop crying and do your best!"

"O-okay..." he muttered. He then laughed, at the same time crying. "Say... was I really such a... a baka?"

"You better believe it!" she grinned. "But that's okay... because you're MY baka." And she moved her shimmering face closer to his own, until both of their mouths touched each other... even though Shinji felt nothing.

Wait... there was something he felt...

Asuka's love.

After what seemed like an eternity, the two separated from each other and Asuka winked. "See ya!"

He nodded. "Yeah, but... are you willing to wait that long?"

"Hey, I can manage! And you better make that a very, very long time, you hear me?"

He nodded.

She nodded back. "Shinji... one more thing. That girl, Konatsu... Tell her..." She sighed. "Tell her I don't blame her, okay? She has suffered quite enough, she shouldn't take the blame for what happened to me... It wasn't her, it was that spirit that was inside her."

"You... you saw everything?" Shinji asked in surprise.

Asuka nodded. "Every part of it. And I'm continuing to watch, even when you'll go down there." She gestured at the impact crater. "So, please tell her that, will ya?"

"Yeah, I promise," Shinji said.

She smiled. "Good. Well... have to go now... don't want to steal those guys the show." She gestured at the Chozo Elder and the other spirits.

And slowly, her shining appearance started to fade away.

Shinji reached out for her, but his arms closed around empty air. "ASUKA! Don't... don't leave me!"

"Don't worry," her voice said as it turned into an echo. "I will always be with you... and I'll be watching you... until we meet again."

And then she was gone.

Shinji hugged Samus with tears in his eyes, while his mentor gave him a gentle embrace.

The Chozo Elder looked down at Shinji with sad eyes, then he spread his arms, as did the other Chozo Spirits.

And then... a glowing circle appeared on the ground, in the middle of them. And then, just as Asuka did, the spirits disappeared.

When they were gone, Samus and Shinji were still staring at the glowing circle in front of them.

Their friends came closer.

"So... this is it?" Misato asked. "Now we can go down there and end it all?"

Samus shook her head. "No... you won't survive down there. The Phazon concentration within the meteor is deadly... only our own suits will protect us from the radiation." She looked down at her black Phazon Suit. "I wonder if we would even be able to survive down there, had that Phazon from the Omega Pirate not infused our Chozo Suits."

"And what are we supposed to do in the meantime?" Kaji wondered. "Just wait out here?"

Shinji shrugged. "Search for any leftover pirates, stay with Ritsuko... you'll think of something. I really wish you guys could come along, but..."

"Yeah, me too," Misato nodded. "Well, can't help it now. You guys take care of yourselves, okay? And show that beast down there who's boss!"

"Yeah, give it a good thrashing from me, okay?" Kaji grinned.

Shinji and Samus grinned back. "It's a promise!"


	10. Death and Rebirth of a Creature

"Okay, let's try this..." Ritsuko said as she gave the Space Pirates' mainframe a few inputs. "Where did you say did you come from again?"

"Um... Nerima, Tokyo!" Konatsu shyly spoke up.

"Tokyo... isn't that the name of a big city on Earth, back in the 21st century?"

"Don't ask me," Rei shrugged. "The only thing I ever learned were military tactics and battle skills to hunt down the... the hunter."

"Wh-what do you mean?" Konatsu asked in confusion. "This is the 21st century... is it not?"

"I'm afraid not..." Ritsuko sighed. "We have 2113 now, dear... Let's see... Aha, I knew it! Here, look! The Space Pirates have a detailed history database about the Galactic Federation, along with all of its planets, Earth included!"

Konatsu's head was spinning. 2113? Galactic Federation?

"Let's see... Ah yes, Tokyo is what the city of Japan Island is now called."

"Japan Island?" Konatsu wondered.

"Yes, a huge island at the eastern coast of Asia, which is covered with one single, massive town... Japan Island has the most advanced technology on Earth... although there are quite a few Alien species which are far superior to our scientific progress..."

"I don't understand," Konatsu murmured. "Does that mean I'm in... in the future?"

"Seems like it! While I have never heard of such a spiritual entity like the one that inhabited your body before, your description of Nerima fits one part of ancient Tokyo very well."

"But how... how am I supposed to go back?" Konatsu asked.

"I don't know if we can help you with that, dear, even if we somehow manage to get off this planet and return back to civilization..."

"I don't believe this..." Konatsu groaned and slumped down on the ground. "All of this started only because Ukyo-sama and Ranma have vanished... all I wanted to do is to see her again."

He closed his eyes. "If I only hadn't listened to that creepy voice..."

"Voice?" Ritsuko and Rei looked at each other in confusion. "What voice?"

Konatsu was going to reply, when suddenly, the door opened and Misato and Kaji entered, followed by PenPen.

"Hey you guys!" Misato greeted them. "We have good news!"

"Good news?" Rei asked sceptically. "Is that even possible?"

"You bet!" Kaji grinned. "We found all of the artifacts, Ridley won't bother anyone again, and Samus and Shinji have just entered the impact crater of the meteor."

"Ridley... is dead?" Rei asked. She sighed. "That would be too good to be true..."

"He's toast, girl!" Misato cheered. "And that means the Space Pirates won't ever bother us again!"

"I wish it would be that easy..." Ritsuko said. "But the Space Pirates are a much bigger race than you could imagine... and Ridley is only one of their leaders."

"What?" Misato wondered. "Dang, that means there are still some out there?"

"I'm afraid so," the scientist shrugged. "The Federation doesn't even know the Space Pirates' homeworld yet. But at least Ridley is dead... and that means they have one formidable commander less among their ranks. And their plan to misuse the Phazon is foiled as well."

"You're right," Misato nodded at her friend's words. "Well, let's just hope Shinji and Samus also can do something about that great... THING down there, and stop the infestation."

"You let them fight the beast alone?" Rei asked.

"Hey, they wanted it this way," Kaji explained. "Besides, the Phazon down there is deadly... I doubt we would have lasted a few minutes without protective suits."

"Ah... okay, you're right... sorry!" Rei said. "Still, I wonder what kind of creature that is..."

* * *

IT awoke from a deep slumber. For a long time, IT had waited here, in the bowels of the Earth, feeding upon the meteor's Phazon, and recreating it with ITs own body. Down here, IT was gathering strength, so IT could one day break free, to the surface. And once this planet was completely infested, IT would move on to the next planet.

But now... IT could feel something. Was it... Yes, the energy barrier surrounding the crater was gone. Was now the time to strike?

But wait... IT could feel the presence of two beings that were descending into the core of the meteor... where IT was resting.

Was one of them the hatchling those pathetic Chozo had talked about before they imprisoned IT with their cursed temple and its force field? How IT loathed those delusional fools with their talk about harmony and nature... At least IT wouldn't have to see their faces again, as ITs Phazon plague has wiped out every single member of their race that had been living on the surface of this planet.

But if this creature that was now approaching IT was indeed the Chozo's Chosen One, it must be a formidable warrior. Very well... it might be time for IT to rise from ITs slumber...

After all those years of resting and waiting, an insatiable urge to kill has built up within ITs body... and now that this 'Hatchling' had arrived, IT wanted to taste its blood!

* * *

"Th-that is the thing we have been looking for?" Shinji gasped as they stood in front of the giant, black carapace that surrounded the monster.

"It seems like it," Samus frowned. "I have never seen anything like it before... but it clearly is the source of the Phazon. And at the same time, it consumes it in big amounts. My Power Suit scanner gave it the name METROID PRIME... although this certainly is no Metroid, it is... something else..."

* * *

IT stared at the two intruders from the depths of its shell. How dare those vertebrates intruding in ITS lair? How dare they aim their weapons at IT? IT was a creature as old as time itself, and IT would prove it by annihilating these beings, breaking free from its prison and transforming every single bit of this world into the ideal state of being...

IT broke free from ITS cocoon, fell down to the cavern's ground and raised its enormous claws, just two of ITS ways to cause harm and pain... The vertebrates would regret ever having put their feet in here...

* * *

"Watch out!" Shinji shouted. "Here it comes!"

"It's charging!" Samus yelled. "Use the Morph Ball!"

Shinji winced. He didn't like the cramped contraption, but he knew he had to listen to Samus' words of advice if he wanted to live...

Rolled up in two spheres of metal, Shinji and Samus rolled out of the creatures' way as it charged them...

* * *

Why were those creatures resisting? They should know that IT was the only powerful being in existence. Resistance was futile, so why did they even put up a fight?

After IT was finished with them, maybe IT should show them the power ITS substance could give to them... but then again, they didn't deserve such a gift...

* * *

"Samus, it changed colors!"

"I'm on it," Samus said, scanning the Metroid Prime. "Its weakness has changed. Switch to Wave Beam, Shinji..."

"Look out, it's firing..."

Both of them used their Space Jump Boots to jump over the sparkling beam of electricity...

Shinji grimaced. "That was too close..."

* * *

IT could feel how the attacks of the two bipeds was weakening ITS armor. Could they really be this powerful? No, it was just the armors they were wearing. Whoever could have created such magnificent pieces of weaponry? Was it their own race or someone else?

IT decided to use those weapon systems for ITS own purpose after those accursed bipeds were defeated.

But to do that, it had to destroy them first. IT realized that within minutes, ITS outer shell would be destroyed. Well, if the body wasn't strong enough to handle things... maybe the mind was!

* * *

"What's happening to it?" Shinji asked.

"I'm not too sure..." Samus said. "But it looks as if its armor is breaking apart..."

A loud growl came out of the carapace, and then something resembling a giant, spectral brain of pulsating matter with a face that vaguely resembled that of a human floated out of it. Tendrils and tentacles of phazon were wriggling through the air.

"That must be its core!" Samus grimaced. "That is one of the most disgusting things I've seen in my life, and I know what Mother Brain looks like."

"It's... it's using the absorbed phazon to... create Metroids!" Shinji gasped. "How is that possible?"

"No time to study that creature, Shinji, we have a battle to win!"

* * *

Now those foolish creatures had no chance of winning! ITS core was mainly composed of the very substance IT was steadily absorbing and giving off... they couldn't harm IT in any way! The only thing that could affect ITS central being was the very substance IT was giving off... and no living being could touch such a concentrated amount of it without succumbing to its deadly effects...

* * *

Shiji started to panic. "Samus, my weapon systems aren't working! No beams, no missiles, nothing! How are we supposed to beat that thing?"

"The only way to harm it would be a concentrated stream of phazon, right into its middle," Samus said after her completed analysis. "But... I don't really see how we are supposed to achieve that. We are protected by our suits, but we can't possibly scoop it up with our hands and throw it at the Metroid Prime, can we?" She tried sounding sarcastic, but failed miserably.

Shinji panted heavily. "Samus, I don't think I can hold on much longer... I... I think I'm gonna..." And then he stumbled and fell down into one of the pools of concentrated phazon which the creature had given off in big amounts during the battle.

And surprisingly, it had an incredibly soothing effect.

Samus gaped as she looked at Shinji. All parts of his dark Phazon Suit were gleaming with blue energy, and he stood up with no effort.

"This is amazing..." Shinji whispered and flexed his hands. "I feel... rejuvenated! It's as if all of my wounds have healed! And the Phazon, it's... it's not harming me, Samus, but the suit itself is ABSORBING it! Do you see that!"

The Metroid Prime let out a loud roar as it flung its tentacles towards Shinji, creating an enormous shockwave.

Shinji space jumped over the attack, landed back in the pool of liquid phazon and fired his beam. "Eat THIS, you creep!"

And he could feel how his suit was steadily absorbing the phazon that was surrounding him, guiding it through his weapon systems and firing it at the Metroid Prime in a bright, gleaming blue beam.

And its effects on the creature were disastrous. Its tentacles were twitching around madly while it tried to free itself from the Phazon Beam's grip.

"Oh no, you don't!" Samus said grimly and jumped into another pool of phazon. Right away, her suit started gleaming the same way as Shinji's was doing. And then she fire the very same beam at the monster... the Phazon Beam!

Even the Metroid Prime could not endure the double pressure of both beams at the same time, its face wavered and flickered, it let out a shrill scream and then...

All of its phazon concentrated and formed one single, formless blob of protoplasm.

Shinji and Samus ceased firing. They had no other choice, the phazon surrounding their suits was used up. Both of them stared at the hovering blob in fascination.

"What... happened to it?" Shinji murmured.

"I... I can't say for sure," Samus grumbled. "But I have the feeling that this is the purest form our little friend can take..."

"How can we harm it? It's not giving phazon off anymore!"

* * *

It had never thought it possible... but those two bipeds did it! They had not only destroyed ITS carapace, but also dissolved the molecular structure which kept ITS core intact.

IT knew IT only had minutes left, so IT had to hurry.

How did those creatures do it? They used ITS very own substance against IT!

IT then felt something. Would IT have a human face, IT would have frowned. Ah, so ITS very own substance had merged with the extraordinary battle suits of the two vertebrates. This was intriguing indeed... But maybe... IT could use this technology to assure ITS own survival...

And without any further doubts, IT extended ITS own tendrils and reached for the two creatures!

* * *

Shinji gasped as the Metroid Prime's core suddenly came to life, snatching his arms with its tendrils and pulling him towards its center. He could see that the same happened to Samus.

"Samus!" he shouted.

"Don't give up, Shinji!" Samus grimaced. "Fight it... you have to..."

And with the last ounce of their strength, they pulled back against the powerful pull of the phazon core... and fell back on their behind when suddenly, all of the phazon that had corrupted their suits was yanked out of them.

Shinji and Samus stared at each other, once again dressed in the Gravity Suit variation, while both of her Dark Suit components were vanishing in the middle of the Metroid Prime's core.

And then the core started to light up, expand and to give off blue clouds and tendrils of energy that came snaking their way.

"RUN!" Samus shouted and pulled her student to his feet. "It's going to explode!"

Together, they quickly ran through the caves, back to the teleporter the Chozo Spirits had activated, and teleported back to the Chozo Temple.

Back on the surface, they realized that the Metroid Prime's destruction had not only affected the caverns in the middle of the Impact Crater, but the temple as well. While the crater's walls were corroding, the temple which was built on its edges, was slowly crumbling apart.

"We have to get out of here!" Shinji yelled and ran for the exit, but Samus held him back.

"It's too late, Shinji, we'll never reach the exit in time."

"But... but how are we gonna escape? We'll die if we stay here!"

Samus grimly looked down at the ground. "That's true..." She always knew she had to die some day, and she was very certain that it would be during one of her adventures.

But... she had never intended to drag a young boy like Shinji into this...

The loud roar of a space engine pulled them both out of their thoughts and made them look up at the sky in surprise.

They still didn't move while the orange spacecraft was approaching the temple and turned around so it could come as close to the collapsing temple as possible.

And then the hatch on top of Samus' gunship opened and Misato's face looked at them. She waved. "Come on in, or do you want to be buried down there for all eternity?"

And just minutes later, the gunship was flying away from the crater, while the temple was slowly breaking apart and falling down into the depths...

* * *

Unbeknown to either Samus or Shinji, deep within the depths of the crater, a new entity was born... or rather, two new entities...

Buried under tons of rubble, the pulsating blob that was Metroid Prime's core was still lying, slowly disintegrating. It didn't really explode, it just wanted to take the two humans along with it...

And then... two black hands suddenly came bursting out of the pulsating mass of phazon.

"We... will meet again..."

"We... need power! More power!"

"We are... FREE!"

* * *

Author's Note:

The story will continue… in Chapter 3 of 'Ranma's interdimensional team of heroes'.


End file.
